Internationally, evidence-based practice (EBP) is recognised as a foundational element of healthcare professional education. Achieving competency in this area is a complex undertaking that is reflected in disparities between ‘best EBP’ and actual clinical care. The effective development and implementation of professional education to facilitate EBP remains a major and immediate challenge. To ascertain nuanced perspectives on the provision of EBP education internationally, interviews were conducted with five EBP education experts from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Definitive advice was provided in relation to (1) EBP curriculum considerations, (2) teaching EBP and (3) stakeholder engagement in EBP education. While a considerable amount of EBP activity throughout health profession education is apparent, effectively embedding EBP throughout curricula requires further development, with a ‘real-world’ pragmatic approach that engenders dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders required.

Introduction: Outdoor parks and playgrounds are important sites of social inclusion in many urban communities. However, these playspaces are often inaccessible and unusable for many children with disabilities. This paper presents findings from a case study of one urban municipality in Ireland. The study aimed to understand play participation in five local playgrounds by exploring the perspectives of play providers and families with diverse abilities, through the lens of universal design. Methods: Multiple qualitative methods were used, including playground audits, walk-and-talk observations, and semi-structured interviews. Four play providers, 12 children, and 10 adult users took part. Inductive analysis was conducted to understand the usability and accessibility of playgrounds from a universal design perspective. Findings: These playgrounds provided high play value for younger children, but low play value for older children and those with disabilities, due to lack of accessibility or usability. While local authorities aimed to provide inclusive playgrounds, they lacked knowledge on universal design for playspaces. Conclusion: Children with disabilities continue to experience exclusion in community playspaces, despite a commitment to inclusion in local authorities. Play providers need support to tailor principles of universal design to playground design. Occupational therapists are ideally situated to collaborate with local authorities on universal design for enhancing children’s play participation in community settings.

To synthesize evidence regarding the physical design features and non-physical aspects of public playgrounds that facilitate/hinder outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion; identify desig...