LibGuides: Nursing: Evidence-Based Practice

What is Evidence-Based Practice?

Evidence-based practice is the integration of a clinician's expertise supported by evidence-based research and informed by a patient's values and preferences.

"What is Evidence-Based Practice?"
by Duke University Medical Center is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Evidence-Based Practice: An Interprofessional Tutorial
This is an interprofessional tutorial eBook from the Health Sciences Libraries at the University of Minnesota. This tutorial covers the foundational aspects of evidence-based practice and concludes with an assessment.

What are Evidence-Based Resources?

Evidence-based resources are comprised of research studies and randomized controlled trials, critically appraised topics and articles, and systematic reviews that are used directly in the creation of clinical practice guidelines.

The evidence pyramid depicts the theoretical level of the quality of evidence for each type of resource.

Recommended eBooks

Introducing Research and Evidence-Based Practice for Nursing and Healthcare Professionals by Jeremy Jolley, ed. 3 (2020) Each chapter guides the reader to uncover the 'mysteries' of research, exposing each aspect in turn, while demonstrating how research in healthcare is a practical activity, orientated directly to patient care.
How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine by Trisha Greenhalgh, ed. 5 (2014) How to Read a Paper is an ideal introduction to evidence-based medicine. The book explains what to look for in different types of research papers, how best to evaluate the literature, and how to implement the findings in an evidence-based, patient-centered way.

How do I search for Evidence-Based Resources?

There are both Library resources and Web resources for searching for evidence-based practices (EBP). The difference for you is that many of the library resources will be immediately available for you in full-text. Resources found in other EBP resources may need to be requested via Interlibrary Loan.

LIBRARY-BASED RESOURCES
Recommended Article Databases

CINAHL Plus with Full Text
Select the Evidence Based Practice box under Search Options in CINAHL to narrow your search to evidence-based practice.
CINAHL is the online version the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature.
MEDLINE with Full Text
Select the EBM Reviews box under Search Options in MEDLINE to narrow your search to evidence-based practice.
MEDLINE provides information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, etc.

Using the search options described above will focus your search results to information under the category of evidence-based medicine. This includes articles from evidence based practice journals, articles about evidence based practice, research articles (including systematic reviews, clinical trials, meta analysis, qualitative studies), commentaries on research studies, and case studies (if they meet the criteria of the use of research and/or evidence based practice terms).

More nuanced search results may be received by including the following phrases with your initial search concept:

"practice, evidence-based"
"practice guideline"
"systematic review"
"meta-analysis"
"critically appraised topics"
"randomized controlled trial"
"cohort studies"
"case control studies"

Evidence-Based Resources on the Internet

Research Articles, Systematic Reviews, and Meta analyses

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine: Resources
CEBM Resources page is a great resource both for its own content and links to other EBP sites. Under the EBM Tools section you can find critical appraisal worksheets, calculators, and guides for finding the best evidence.
Pubmed
Pubmed.gov is a database provided by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. It comprises more than 27 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites
Using PubMed in Evidence-Based Practice - Training Course
PubMed is a free research tool from the National Library of Medicine®. This course will show you how to use evidence-based practice when searching clinical questions using PubMed®.
Trip (Free Version)
Trip is a clinical search engine designed to allow users to quickly and easily find and use high-quality research evidence to support their practice and/or care. A librarian can help you locate any of the content that is not freely available in Trip.
Cochrane
Cochrane is for anyone interested in using high-quality information to make health decisions. The site allows you search the Cochrane Library. The Cochrane Library is a collection of databases that contain different types of high-quality, independent evidence to inform healthcare decision-making. A librarian can help you locate any of the content that is not freely available in Cochrane.

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The Cochrane Library includes the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Cochrane Clinical Answers, and a federated search feature that incorporates results from external databases.

Critically Appraised Topics

EPC Evidence-Based Reports
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), through its EPCs, sponsors the development of various reports to assist public- and private-sector organizations in their efforts to improve the quality of health care in the United States. These reports provide comprehensive, science-based information on common, costly medical conditions and new health care technologies and strategies.
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations
The USPSTF was convened to rigorously evaluate clinical research in order to assess the merits of preventive measures, including screening tests, counseling, immunizations, and preventive medications. The topics on this site include all recommendations: active, inactive, and in progress.

PICO Question

The PICO question can help to clarify what clinical question you are trying to answer using your research. But it can also be used to help find and develop keywords and subject terms that relate to a topic of research. Additionally, it can be utilized as an evaluation tool to determine if an article or source meets the criteria of your research.