Affiliations:
K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, ILR School, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Hannah Rudstam, Ph.D., K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, 201 Dolgen Hall, ILR School, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. E-mail: hhr5@cornell.edu.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Over the past decade, knowledge translation (KT) has emerged as a framework for turning research findings into actions which will improve outcomes for individuals with disabilities. OBJECTIVE:This article examines how the origins of KT in healthcare have shaped (and perhaps limited) how it has been conceptualized in the realm of disability and, more specifically, disability and employment. CONCLUSION:We focus on three questions. First, how have the origins of KT shaped the epistemological commitments informing its use in the realms of healthcare and disability? What features do these commitments draw attention to? What features do they render invisible? Second, the realm of disability is characterized by a more complex and disparate landscape of stakeholders than is the case in healthcare. Stakeholder groups are not simply neutral knowledge users. Each stakeholder group has a unique culture, discourse, epistemology and view of “success.” What does this mean for KT in the realm of disability? Third, the Knowledge-to-Action (K2A) Framework (Graham et al., 2006) has been widely adopted in several realms: Healthcare, education, international development and disability. Given the unique challenges of KT in the realm of disability, how might the K2A Framework need to be adapted to strengthen its effectiveness?
