Decreasing the Knowledge-to-Action Gap Through Research-Clinical Partnerships in Speech-Language Pathology

A partnership between a Swallowing Rehabilitation Research Laboratory (SRRL) team and four clinical speech-language pathologists (S-LPs) was created to address an identified knowledge-to-action (KTA) gap with respect to the use of a novel treatment technique for dysphagia. Clinicians who had previously been educated in the use of surface electromyography (sEMG) biofeedback in swallowing rehabilitation, but who had not adopted this technique in their clinical practice, received hands-on mentorship to facilitate utilization of the treatment technique in question. An action plan was devised following the framework of the KTA process outlined by Graham et al. (2006). Analysis of post-training interview data indicated that the clinicians valued their experience working with the SRRL team. Clinicians reported that support from the SRRL team helped them overcome various barriers, including therapeutic time constraints, difficulty maintaining knowledge of current research literature, and lack of confidence in implementing new techniques. Overall, a successful KTA process was achieved, benefiting clinicians, patients, and researchers.