FROM MY PT SCHOOL NOTES · EVIDENCE-BASED PHYSICAL THERAPY · CHAPTER 16
How Do Patient Preferences Change an Evidence-Based Plan?
Research and clinical expertise are necessary, but the patient’s goals, access, expectations and choices are part of evidence-based care.
Ask what matters to the person
The lecture returns to the evidence-based practice triad: clinical expertise, best available research and patient/client values or preferences. It emphasizes shared decision-making, informed consent, respecting autonomy and weighing likely benefits and harms.
Explain options and trade-offs
Terms from class: preferences describe which option a person favors; expectancies are beliefs about likely experiences or outcomes; values are priorities or beliefs that make outcomes important. These influences may shape both clinical participation and research behavior.
Decide together and reassess
The lecture encourages understanding the person’s impairment, activity and participation concerns in sociocultural context, and explaining what agreeing to or declining a test or intervention could mean. Family and clinician preferences can also influence decisions but should not displace the individual’s voice.
Check your reasoning: A well-studied exercise program is inaccessible to a patient. Is evidence-based practice simply to prescribe it anyway?
No. Consider feasible alternatives and make a shared decision informed by the evidence, patient needs and context.
Put it into practice
Scenario: A patient values returning to caregiving but cannot attend a clinic three times a week. A trial tested supervised sessions at that frequency.
What should you conclude?
Reasoning: Explain the evidence and uncertainties, then discuss accessible ways to work toward the goal. The patient’s preferences and constraints are part of the evidence-based decision, not barriers to ignore.
Common trap: Prescribing the research protocol word for word without considering the person. Remember: Combine evidence, clinical skill and what matters to the patient.
Based on my Evidence-Based PT class-notes companion, source lecture Chapter 20. Examples and knowledge checks are educational, not official NPTE material. Compare with your course and current primary sources.
