LibGuides: Occupational Therapy Assistant: 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.

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.

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 This link opens in a new window
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 This link opens in a new window
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

Pubmed
Pubmed 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®.
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) is the leading resource for systematic reviews in health care. The CDSR includes Cochrane Reviews (the systematic reviews) and protocols for Cochrane Reviews as well as editorials. A librarian can help you locate any of the content that is not freely available in Cochrane.
OTSeeker
OTseeker is a database that contains abstracts of systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials and other resources relevant to occupational therapy interventions. Most trials have been critically appraised for their validity and interpretability.
PEDro - Physiotherapy Evidence Database
PEDro is designed to support the practice of evidence-based physiotherapy. It gives rapid access to the best research evaluating the effects of physiotherapy interventions.

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.

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.