TREAT Journal clubs: “Tailoring Research Evidence And Theory” into allied health Journal Clubs

The TREAT journal clubs will run once a month at a scheduled time and venue for 1 hour for six months and will be facilitated by an academic mentor with expertise in evidence based practice. The content and structure of the journal clubs are based on theory and research evidence outlined in the literature. Specifically, a synthesis of evidence derived from two systematic reviews by Harris et al., (2011) and Deenadayalan et al., (2008) identified a number of “active ingredients” or effective components of JCs which are incorporated into the TREAT journal clubs of the present study. These include: establishing a journal club of similar interests, having overarching goal/purpose, regular predictable attendance, circulate articles for discussion, access didactic support (i.e., training), mentoring/ support from researchers/academics, use of structured appraisal tools during the session, adhering to principles of adult learning and use multi-faceted learning strategies, put evidence in context of clinical practice, evaluate knowledge uptake informally or formally/ follow up, have a facilitator to guide discussion, having food at the journal clubs. Journal clubs will vary in size but have on average 10-20 members. Articles are disseminated where possible up to five days before the journal club however time is given within the journal club session for clinicians to peruse the article for discussion. Mentoring and support will be available from the academic mentor and library for presenters in between sessions to assist with forming a clinical question and selecting their article as well as from the academic mentor throughout the journal club session. The structured appraisal CASP appraisal tools (http://www.casp-uk.net/#!casp-tools-checklists/c18f8) will be used for all sessions and minutes and actions will be discussed at each meeting to monitor any items which need to be followed up across journal club sessions. Critical appraisal of the journal articles will be done with all members to increase participation and promote adult learning. Each TREAT journal club will also include a 10 minute educational component presented by the academic mentor facilitating the club scheduled for the beginning of the journal club session. This will cover one of the following topics each month: forming a clinical PICO question, searching the literature, study design, basic statistics (intervention studies), basic statistics (diagnostic and prevalence studies), and types of bias. Each education session be standardised across the TREAT clubs using a standardised power point presentation and handout for clinicians to refer to. The final TREAT journal club session will be co-facilitated by a member of the journal club (with the mentor also present) to promote sustainability of the new format. For all other sessions, a consistent academic mentor will provide the majority of TREAT sessions. Following the 6 month trial period, a 6 month maintenance phase will be occur whereby TREAT clubs will be invited to continue the same format within their teams. During this 6 month period, a journal club team member(s) rather than an academic mentor will facilitate the journal club. No formal input from the research team will be provided during the maintenance phase. Deenadayalan, Y., Grimmer-Somers, K., Prior, M., & Kumar, S. (2008). How to run an effective journal club: a systematic review. [Review]. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 14(5), 898-911. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2008.01050.x Harris, J., Kearley, K., Heneghan, C., Meats, E., Roberts, N., Perera, R., & Kearley-Shiers, K. (2011). Are journal clubs effective in supporting evidence-based decision making? A systematic review. BEME Guide No. 16. Medical Teacher, 33(1), 9-23. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2011.530321