Course:LIBR559A/Reimer-Kirkham, S., et al (2009)

Citation

Reimer-Kirkham, S., Varcoe, C., Browne, A. J., Lynam, J., Khan, K. B., & McDonald, H. (2009). Critical inquiry and knowledge translation: Exploring compatibilities and tensions. Nursing Philosophy, 10(3), 152-166. doi: 10.1111/j.1466-769X.2009.00405.x

Annotation

This article aimed to examine how knowledge translation theories can be used from a social justice perspective: specifically, how evidence-based practices can also be informed by critical theorist, postcolonialist, and feminist forms of knowledge. Centred in the theoretical framework of postcolonial feminism, the authors’ main goal was to explain the compatibilities and incompatibilities between knowledge translation theories and critical inquiry, and how the two can be combined to incorporate “critical knowledge” into medical practice.

The authors give a history of how postcolonial feminist theory developed within the field of critical inquiry, through a detailed literature review. This theoretical framework has roots in the Marxist tradition, but also considers the effects that colonialism and oppression of marginalized communities have had on society. The knowledge that is produced by critical inquiry is informed by the oppression that can take place through social organization. Four main features of critical knowledge included understanding oppression, defining culture, recognizing the social determinants of health, and noticing how social inequities lead to health care inequities. Since critical inquiry focuses on “critique, reflexivity, and action” as well as “tentativeness, openness, and focus on process” (p. 14), this is not always compatible with knowledge translation’s main focus of simply turning information into practice.

The authors noted how the quality of health care is not the only force in an individual’s health status: socioeconomic status is also highly influential in a person’s health. It was felt that the field of knowledge translation is often ignoring critical forms of knowledge, and that evidence-based practices are only grounded in scientific research findings. With knowledge translation neglecting to incorporate critical knowledge into its framework, health care services are suffering. However, knowledge translation studies are moving in a direction of recognizing different ways of knowing and understanding, something that is definitely compatible with critical inquiry.

This article presents a different perspective to evidence-based practices, and one that is often missing from the discussion. Ultimately, the authors felt that medicine should be informed by scientific findings as well the existence of societal inequities, which is not always recognized in medicine.

Through a theoretical analysis of many different critical perspectives, the authors generated a unified critique of the existing practices within knowledge translation. However, the field of knowledge translation is currently dealing with the crucial issue that scientific evidence is not always being recognized and put into practice by healthcare professionals. The authors may have neglected to recognize that this pressing issue is likely to be taking up most of the interventional efforts within the field. Critical knowledge translation is an important problem to address, but the reasons it is being neglected as an issue were not well described in the article.

Health librarians who are responsible for disseminating knowledge through digital resources to health care providers, and therefore involved in the knowledge translation process, could greatly benefit from this new perspective on knowledge translation. Where critical knowledge is often ignored, health librarians can help to provide critical resources to promote an enhanced understanding of evidence-based practices. Knowledge translation is also relevant to the field of HCI, in developing technologies that facilitate user experience and understanding of information.

Page Author: Maddy Walter

Areas/Topics/Keywords

Knowledge translation, postcolonial feminism, health professional education, health libraries.