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Research Council

Chair Tara J. Wright, CPO, LPO, FAAOP (opens in a new tab)

The goal and objective of the Research Council is to influence the profession of orthotics and prosthetics in a way that fosters self-sustaining research efforts and produces peer-reviewed P&O research that advances Evidence-Based Practice. To provide research education for O&P professionals and enhance the profession's research capacity.

Evidence-Based Practice Committee

Chair Todd Farrell, PhD (opens in a new tab)

The purpose of this committee is to promote evidence-based practice within orthotics and prosthetics through knowledge translation deliverables. These deliverables will be based on the best available research evidence and presented in brief and understandable formats to facilitate clinical implementation.

Objectives

  1. Facilitate the creation of knowledge translation deliverables, including critically appraised topics (CATs). CATs are brief documents that synthesize the best available research evidence on clinically-relevant topics in order to inform prosthetic and orthotic clinical care.
  2. Evaluate, maintain, and make knowledge translation deliverables available to Academy members (eg, CATs).
  3. Evaluate short- and long-term impact of knowledge translation deliverables (eg, CATs).

Outcomes Research Committee

Chair Eric Weber, CPO, LPO, FAAOP (opens in a new tab)

Develop means to assist Academy members in gathering, using, and reporting outcomes measures. Provide guidelines and act as a resource for members conducting human subjects' research in orthotics and prosthetics.

Objectives

  1. Increase awareness and application of outcome measures in clinical practice.
  2. Assist members in determining how they can disseminate data collected from human subject's research.
  3. Create a forum to connect researchers and clinicians within orthotics and prosthetics.

Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics

Editor in Chief Steve Gard, PhD (opens in a new tab)

The mission of the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics is to promote, enhance and disseminate information pertinent to the science and practice of prosthetics and orthotics.

State of the Science Program

Chair Michelle J. Hall, MS, CPO, FAAOP(D) (opens in a new tab)
Vice Chair C. Leigh. Davis, MSPO, CPO, FAAOP (opens in a new tab)

The State-of-the-Science Program (SSP) is a suite of evidence-based activities and/or deliverables, each carefully chosen to match the needs of an individual topic and the relative level of available evidence. This program customizes outputs to the available evidence to maximize the impact of developed deliverables and the corresponding utilization of Academy resources. SSP deliverables (i.e., secondary knowledge sources produced from SSP activities) are expected to be created and made readily available to the Academy membership.

The purpose of the SSP is to advance knowledge in the rapidly evolving field of orthotics and prosthetics (O&P) by promoting the “conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients”1 through review, appraisal, synthesis, and dissemination of existing evidence. Such evidence may then be leveraged to guide and support practice, education, research, and policy in O&P. The SSP is intended to produce two key outcomes: 1) evidence to support clinical practice, education, research, and/or policy and 2) priorities for future research.