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Volume 26 (3)
Volume 26, Issue 3, Summer 2006
J Contin Educ Health Prof 2006; 26(3):230-243
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Research to practice in The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions: A thematic analysis of volumes 1 through 24
Anu MacIntosh-Murray
Laure Perrier
David Davis
A b s t r a c t
Introduction: Authors have stressed the importance of the broader contextual influences on
practice improvement and learning and have expressed concern about gaps between
research and practice. This implies a potential expansion of the knowledge base for continuing
education in the health professions (CEHP) and an increased emphasis on research evidence
for that knowledge. How has the content of The Journal of Continuing Education in
the Health Professions (JCEHP) reflected those changes? What are the implications for
CEHP practitioners?
Methods: Based on all abstracts, tables of contents, and editorials, a thematic analysis was
completed for volumes 1 through 24 of JCEHP. All texts were downloaded into qualitative
analysis software and coded. Main code categories included demographics of articles, concepts
relating to CEHP as a discipline, knowledge translation and outcomes-oriented continuing
education, and theories and frameworks. Key themes were identified.
Results: Key themes include categories of topics included in JCEHP over the years, the
increased prominence of research in JCEHP, a dual research evidence-to-practice gap, the
professionalization of continuing education providers, and interdisciplinarity and the links
with broader frameworks that have been proposed for CEHP.
Discussion: Two sets of research-to-practice gaps are portrayed in the journal: the gap between
clinical research and practice and the gap between research and practice in CEHP. To close the
first gap, authors have asserted that the second gap must be addressed, ensuring that CEHP
practices themselves are evidence based, driven by theory-based research. This is a variation
on prior debates regarding the need to define CEHP as a discipline, which uses the language of
professionalization. The increased focus of continuing education on the contexts of health care
providers’ practices has multiplied the topics that are potentially relevant to CEHP practice.
Lessons for Practice
- The disciplinary and theoretical bases of continuing education in the health professions have expanded, along with the
potential roles, competencies, and curriculum for CEHP providers themselves.
- CEHP practitioners may face problems of information overload and difficulty keeping up with relevant literature from diverse disciplines.
- The information needs of those who offer CEHP should be revisited to assess how the needs have changed and what approaches might be useful to meet those needs.
Key Words: Research-to-practice gap, evidence-based practice, continuing education of
health professionals, knowledge translation, discipline, professionalization
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