EFFECT OF INCLUDING A CLINICAL EXAMPLE ON THE ABILITY OF PHYSICAL-THERAPISTS TO APPLY INFORMATION IN A TECHNICAL RESEARCH REPORT

Background and Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine whe ther an example in a technical research report would affect applicatio n of content to hypothetical patient problems and to future patients. Subjects. Subjects were 69 physical therapists who routinely used isok inetic equipment in the treatment of patients with knee joint patholog ies. Methods. Thirty-five subjects (group 1) read a research report th at described mathematical models for predicting preinjury quadriceps f emoris and hamstring muscle performance. The report included an exampl e of applying the information. The remaining 34 subjects (group 2) rea d the same research report with the example omitted. Subjects were ask ed to select appropriate prediction models and determine preinjury kne e torques for two hypothetical patients. Subjects were also contacted 6 to 12 weeks after initial data collection to determine whether they bad applied research report results in their treatments of patients. R esults. Chi-square analyses indicated manuscript type was not related to the selection of correct models, but group 1 subjects computed corr ect torque values more frequently than did group 2 subjects. Insuffici ent data were available regarding application of research report conte nt to patients Conclusion and Discussion. The results indicate applica tion of technically oriented research reports may be enhanced by inclu ding examples of applications.