Use of research by the Australian health promotion workforce

• Published in: Health education research Vol. 22; no. 4; pp. 576 - 587
• Main Authors: James, Erica L., Fraser, Caitlin, Anderson, Karen, Judd, Fiona
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.08.2007; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Australia; Barriers; Bibliographic Databases; Evidence based medicine; Evidence Based Practice; Female; Health Occupations; Health Personnel - psychology; Health Promotion; Health Promotion - organization & administration; Health technology assessment; Humans; Information Dissemination; Labor Force; Mail Surveys; Male; Middle Aged; Organizational Culture; ORIGINAL ARTICLES; Practitioners; Program Design; Public Health; Qualitative Research; Australia
• ISSN: 0268-1153; 1465-3648
• DOI: 10.1093/her/cyl111

This paper examines the attitudes and practices of Australian health promotion practitioners toward evidence-based practice (EBP). The study used a survey methodology and questionnaires were sent to 1114 members of the Australian Health Promotion Association. A response rate of 27% (n = 277) was achieved. The data showed that the vast majority of participant's attitudes toward EBP was very welcoming. However, in practice the impact of EBP was limited. Participants identified a range of significant barriers to implementing EBP including organizational culture, policy directives and lack of resources. A range of concerns was also identified regarding the applicability of the medically based EBP model within health promotion, which is based upon a social model of health. The findings highlight the importance of acknowledging the complexity of health promotion interventions and working toward developing an appropriate evidence base.