Define Evidence Based Practice
An integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available clinical evidence from systematic research
5 Key Components of EBP
- Judicious and Informed Decision Making
- Use of current best evidence
- Focus on individual
- Use of clinical expertise
- Grounded on systematic research
Role of Clinical Expertise in EBP
Blending:
- Clinical Judgment
- Patient Values/Circumstance
- Best Research Evidence Available
Steps of EBP
- Good PICO question
- Locating Research
- Assessing strength of evidence: hierarchy of evidence
- Incorporate clinical judgment (most important step)
- Storing he findings (using EBP/matrix system)
Should all articles be critically evaluated the same whether they are from Medline, CINAHL, or PEDro?
- Yes. Articles should always be critically evaluated. Even if the source is trusted, you should still give your own evaluation of the article.
Key Words
- Words you search in a database that relate to the topic/study of interest
- Pull Keywords from a question and consider synonyms/regional terms when searching (ex. PT vs. Physical Therapy vs. Physiotherapy)
Is Time a Factor for Completing EBP Research
Yes. You will be busy as a clinician and time will be a factor in completing your own studies/research
Appropriate to use abstracts to determine an intervention for patient use?
No. Abstracts are good summaries of a study, but only should be used to filter a study to determine if you should read any further
Operational Definitions
Defines a variable to its unique meaning within a study (ex. A perspective of back pain - it can be defined in different ways like 0-10 scale, functional limitation, disability level)
Information in an Abstract to help determine use of Article
- Is it current?
- Where is it on the hierarchy of evidence?
- What type of study is it?
