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4. Adapt and Apply the Evidence
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Is the evidence relevant?
Once you’ve appraised the evidence you’ve found, you need to determine how relevant and applicable the findings are in terms of your own practice.
*Remember to consider any opposing evidence - think about both sides of any arguments*.
Try using the checklist below to work through the key findings from your evidence sources and determine how relevant they are to your practice. You’ll need to consider how similar the subject and context of the evidence is to your situation, what the differences are, and whether any differences matter.
Checklist
- Does the evidence come from similar service users to the people you work with?
Are the demographic characteristics the same or similar? (age, gender, ethnicity social class...)
Are family/carer circumstances the same or similar?
Are problems/conditions the same or similar? - Is the context similar to your situation?
Is the location/environment the same or similar? (UK or overseas, urban or rural...)
Are policies/constraints on practice the same or similar?
Are the same or similar resources available? (funding, staffing...) - Are the interventions/outcomes feasible?
Do the findings promote interventions that could be applied in your situation?
Are the outcomes the same or similar to those required by your service, service users or other stakeholders?
It's unlikely you’ll find that the research evidence exactly matches your situation, but hopefully it will give useful background information and partial answers. You should also be prepared to consider evidence from your own practice knowledge and experience, and from service users and carers. This will help you decide whether the research evidence can be adapted to your situation, and what you can do differently as a result of your learning.
In some cases, you may find that while you’ve found some good quality evidence, it just isn’t relevant enough to be used or adapted for your practice, or you may need to refine your topic, carry out further reading, or consider doing your own research.
North Team B used the checklist against their research evidence. The evidence suggested that assistive technology does have a positive impact on quality of life for people living at home. The team felt that both the populations studied and the contexts of the studies were similar enough to apply the evidence to their practice, and were keen to work out the best way of presenting their findings to their service manager.
Presenting the evidence
Once you’ve identified good quality, relevant research findings, you need to present your evidence. How you present your evidence and who you present it to will depend on the scale of the change to practice you’re considering.
You might just want to give information, you may be aiming to change attitudes, or you may be hoping to influence practice. It may just be a small change for your team, or it may be something with wider implications, that will need to be presented at a higher level.
You may find the SCAM model helpful when thinking about presenting your evidence, particularly if you’re proposing a significant change to practice.
Source Channel Audience Message
Source: Who delivers the message
If you’ve located and appraised the evidence, you may be keen to deliver the message yourself, and you may be the best person to do this. However, think about the impact you want to have, and where you want the message to be seen to be coming from. Is there someone else who may be more appropriate to deliver the message? Who will give the most weight and credibility to your message? Can you get service users involved?
Channel: how is the message delivered?
Don’t automatically assume an extensive report outlining all your findings is the best way to deliver your message. Try to be creative, and think about a range of ways of getting your message across. Could you hold a workshop, seminar or other event? What about using photographs, or a film clip, to illustrate your argument?
Audience: who are you trying to reach?
Different people need information in different ways and in different formats. Think about your target audience. Do you need to address different audiences in different ways? What will be important to them? What will their concerns be? What kind of approach will they respond to?
Message: what do you want to say?
What is your key message? Are your proposed changes realistic? Are you offering solutions rather than presenting problems? What about the practicalities, such as staffing or financial implications? Can you show how the evidence has informed your proposed changes to practice?
North Team B were keen to see if they could pilot the use of assistive technology in their team, with the aim of improving the quality of life of their service users. They decided they needed to present their case to their service manager, Steven, and invited him to their next team meeting.
Debbie and Sue from the team were chosen to present the findings from the research evidence, which they combined with evidence from Debbie’s experience in her previous role.
They mentioned links with current legislation, and also talked about a couple of their service users as case examples of how telecare could improve their quality of life. They made sure they emphasised potential savings involved too.
Their service manager was impressed by the quality of the evidence they presented and said he’d take their case to his management team and get back to them soon.
Applying the evidence: changing practice
Whatever the scale of the change to practice you’re considering, be prepared to respond to challenges and resistance to change. Others may argue there isn’t enough time or money to implement your changes, or that staff don’t have the right skills.
Make sure you present your messages in terms that make sense to practice and that take account of constraints.
You should also try to be creative, and focus on the gains, including any saved resources, staff development opportunities, links to new policies or legislation, and potential positive publicity. And remember, your message will carry a lot more weight if it’s informed by good quality, reliable evidence.
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