Exploring clinicians’ experiences and perceptions of end-user roles in knowledge development: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: End-user involvement in developing evidence-based tools for clinical practice may result in increased uptake and improved patient outcomes. Understanding end-user experiences and perceptions about the co-production of knowledge is useful to further the science of integrated knowledge translation (iKT) – a strategy for accelerating the uptake and impact of research. Our study had two main objectives: (1) explore end-user (clinician) experiences of co-producing an evidence-based practice tool; and (2) describe end-user perceptions in knowledge development. METHODS: We used a qualitative study design. We conducted semi-structured interviews with clinicians and used a transcendental phenomenological approach to analyze themes/phenomena. In addition, we explored the interrelated themes between the thematic maps of each objective. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from clinicians’ experiences in co-producing the practice tool: ease/convenience of participating, need for support and encouragement, understanding the value of participating, and individual skillsets yield meaningful contributions. Stakeholder roles in knowledge tool development and improving dissemination of evidence and knowledge tools were themes that related to clinician perceptions in knowledge development. The review of interrelated thematic maps depicts an intertwined relationship between stakeholders and dissemination. CONCLUSIONS: End-users provide invaluable insight and perspective into the development of evidence-based clinical tools. Exploring the experiences and perceptions of end-users may support future research endeavours involving iKT, such as the co-production of clinical resources, potentially improving uptake and patient health outcomes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-021-06955-7.