Where to find evidence based practice

Expanded in New York, Grey literature does not form a part of traditional publishing, and is not widely disseminated. It can include a huge range of resources form theses and dissertations, through conference proceedings, government documents, and research reports to digital repositories and registers of clinical trials.

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If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. What is EBP? EvidenceAlerts A searchable database of the best health-care evidence, where articles are pre-appraised for quality and clinical relevance. Free, but registration is required.

Journal Databases - for a range of materials including systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines, and randomised controlled trials: MEDLINE Recognised as the premier international index of biomedical literature, and available here in the Ovid platform.. Each record in the database is an abstract and commentary on an individual study or review.

Evidence-based information ranges from Level A the strongest to Level C the weakest. In , Level ML, multilevel, was added to identify clinical practice guidelines that contain recommendations based on more than one level of evidence:.

Alfaro-LeFevre R. Louis, MO: Elsevier-Saunders; Strength of recommendation taxonomy SORT : a patient centered approach to grading evidence in the medical literature. Am Fam Physician. Published February 1, Accessed November 11, Evidence-based medicine toolkit.

American Academy of Family Physician Web site. What is evidence based medicine? Updated March 7, Levels of evidence. Published March Updated April 15, A Guide to Best Practice.

Strength of recommendation taxonomy SORT. American Academy of Family Physicians Web site. Your search will be guided by your clinical question. Or, in other words, sort, read, and critique peer-reviewed literature. APPLY your findings to clinical decision-making. Integrate the evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences and values. Then make evidence-based recommendations for day-to-day practice. Review data and document your approach. Be sure to include any revisions or changes.

Keep close tabs on the outcomes of your intervention. Evaluate and summarize the outcome. Share the results of your project with others. Sharing helps promote best practices and prevent duplicative work. It also adds to the existing resources that support or oppose the practice. Though we may learn how to apply EBP by participating in project-based work, integrating EBP in our daily practice can help us strive to achieve the best possible patient outcomes. It requires us to be thoughtful about our practice and ask the right questions.

It's important to note that although applying evidence at the bedside can be conducted individually, working collaboratively as a team is more likely to result in lasting improvement. As health care providers, delivery of patient care should stimulate questions about the evidence behind our daily practice. For instance, there was a time when neutropenic patients were placed in strict isolation to protect them from developing life-threatening infections.

Research findings were evaluated for best evidence and it was noted that using strict isolation precautions did not result in more favorable patient outcomes when compared to proper handwashing procedures coupled with standard precautions—and it seemed that we unnecessarily subjected patients to the negative psychological effects caused by extreme isolation.

As clinicians, we sometimes follow outdated policies or practices without questioning their relevance, accuracy, or the evidence that supports their continued use. There is a common misconception that EBP and research are one in the same. Not true! While there are similarities, one of the fundamental differences lies in their purpose. The purpose of conducting research is to generate new knowledge or to validate existing knowledge based on a theory.

Research involves systematic, scientific inquiry to answer specific questions or test hypotheses using disciplined, rigorous methods. For research results to be considered reliable and valid, researchers must use the scientific methods in orderly, sequential steps. The purpose of EBP is to use the best available evidence to make informed patient-care decisions.

Most of the best evidence stems from research, but EBP goes beyond research and includes the clinical expertise of the clinician and healthcare teams, as well as patient preferences and values.