KT -- What IS it?

Knowledge Translation (KT) is the exchange, synthesis and ethically sound application of knowledge -- within a complex system of interactions among researchers and users -- to accelerate the capture of the benefits of research ... through improved health, more effective services and products, and a strengthened health care system.¹

To promote continuity of care and optimize outcomes for patients, the continuously growing body of knowledge coming out of spinal cord injury (SCI) research needs to find its way into practice in a variety of post-acute settings, the intensive rehabilitation hospital, the home, the community and into acute care where clinicians prescribe courses of treatment aimed at recovery and deal with people with disabilities and their often unique needs in emergent situations.

In order for the benefits of research to perfuse the health service network in a targeted and expeditious manner, pathways for the sharing of information need to be established and maintained.  Applying the KT model, NCSCIMS helps develop these pathways by initiating and maintaining a dialog with individuals and organizations in the SCI community of interest whose interactions with SCI service consumers – both present and prospective – may be enhanced as a result of evidence gained through studies carried out across a multitude of disciplines, from neuroscience to biomechanics to health services research.

1. Definition popularized by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) as accessed on the World Wide Web June 21, 2005. http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/8505.html