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Rehabilitation Service Line Resources: UNC Hospitals: Evidence-Based Practice
This guide focuses on a general set of library resources and services to meet the needs of Rehabilitation Line professionals at UNC Hospitals and points to discipline specific resources in addition.
Created by Health Science Librarians
EBP Definition
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EBP integrates:
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Five Steps of Evidence-Based Practice:
1. Assess - A question arises during care of a patient
2. Ask - Completely articulate all parts of the question
3. Acquire - Conduct a thorough focused search and select the highest quality evidence
4. Appraise - Evaluate the evidence for validity and clinical applicability
5. Apply - Use clinical expertise to integrate applicable evidence with attention to patient values
Evidence Based Practice: Multidisciplinary Resources
EBP Databases and Content Collections:
The resources below will generally provide higher levels of evidence because experts have collected, analyzed, and reported on the evidence for you. This is called filtered information.
Higher types of evidence include Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analyses, Guidelines, Critically Appraised Topics and more.
You can also search for specific Publication Types or Article Types like Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, Guideline, or Randomized Controlled Trial in Health Sciences Databases such as CINAHL, PubMed, or Embase.
- Cochrane LibraryLeading source for full-text systematic reviews in health care. Searches a collection of databases that includes the CDSR, CENTRAL, Clinical Answers, and selected reviews from Epistemonikos. RCTs are from Medline, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, the WHO ICTRP, CINAHL (since 2020) and more. Click on "Search Limits" or the Browse tab to select content from a specific database.
- The Campbell CollaborationWhat helps? What harms? Based on what evidence? Includes Systematic Reviews, Policy Briefs, training and education resources, Focuses on Crime and Justice, Education, International Development and Social Welfare.
- JAMAevidenceIncludes Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature (3rd ed); The Rational Clinical Examination; PowerPoint slide sets for EBM instruction; interactive worksheets; critical appraisal forms; and question wizards to help formulate clinical questions.
- Finding Guidelines (UNC Health Sciences Library)Guidelines (also known as clinical practice guidelines, practice guidelines, and CPG's) are high-level evidence because a group of experts has reviewed the existing evidence on a topic, graded the evidence, and made recommendations for how to implement the evidence in a clinical setting. Guidelines can be developed on the international, national, state, and local level by health organizations, hospitals, and other groups; always check the quality and authorship to be sure a guideline is trustworthy and can be used in patient care.
Note: The National Guideline Clearinghouse is no longer being updated after July 16, 2018. Alternative guideline resources can be found in this Finding Guidelines guide.
Discipline-Specific EBP Resources
Music Therapy
- AMTA Music Therapy with Specific Populations: Fact Sheets, Resources & BibliographiesIncludes bibliographies on Music therapy research and evidence based practice support in several specific populations, including Autism Spectrum, Habilitation, Special Education, and Mental Health.
Nursing
- Nursing (UNC HSL Guide)See:
• Evidence-based Practice Databases
• Guidelines
Occupational Therapy
- OT Seeker EBP ResourcesThis page offers freely accessible resources, power-point presentations and links to evidence-based practice resources:
• Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice in Occupational Therapy
• Searching for Evidence
• Critical Appraisal of Research Evidence
• Implementing Evidence in Practice
Physical Therapy
- APTA Evidence-Based Practice & ResearchNOTE: APTA regrets that Hooked on Evidence, APTA’s intervention evidence database containing article extracts entered between 2002 and 2014, is no longer available as of February 5, 2016.
- PTNow Clinical Summaries (APTA)Abstracts are open access. Full summaries require APTA or PTNow membership. .
- Physical Therapy Journal (APTA)Publishes clinical practice guidelines, systematic reviews, protocols, and articles linking evidence and practice (LEAP), plus randomized controlled trials and other original research.
- PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database)From Australia. Although focused on physio- or physical therapy, this database does contain evidence relevant to the practice of Occupational Therapy.
- PEDro TutorialsIncludes How to Ask a Clinical Question in PICO format, Is the Trial valid?, Is the Therapy Clinically Useful?, and PEDro scale training.
Recreational Therapy
- RT Wise Owls--Recreational Therapy Evidence Based Practice: Strengthening the ProfessionDeveloped by the Therapeutic Recreation program at Temple University to share Recreational Therapy student mentored research/synthesis projects that advance the use of evidence based practice (EBP), as well as EBP resources.
- Therapeutic Recreation JournalOfficial publication of the National Therapeutic Recreation Society, a branch of the National Recreation and Park Association. Peer Reviewed. Articles are "scholarly and substantive.” Occasional theme-based issues. Articles are designated as either a "Conceptual Paper" or a "Practice Perspective." Most issues include one substantive book review.
Speech-Language Pathology
- ASHA Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)Includes Tutorials, EBP Glossary, Compendium of EBP Clinical Practice Guidelines and Systematic Reviews, ASHA Evidence Maps, ASHA/N-CEP Evidence Based Systematic Reviews, and more.
- SpeechBITE (Speech Pathology Database for Best Interventions and Treatment Efficacy)Systematic reviews and other literature related to speech pathology interventions. Evidence is graded; highest-quality evidence is listed first for each search. Includes What is EBP?, Research/Study Design Types (on FAQ page), Rating Research Quality, more. Includes information and links for the PEDro-P scale for group comparison designs (RCT's and non-RCT's).
- PsycBITE Rating Scales: PEDro-P and SCEDInformation and links for the PEDro-P scale for Randomised controlled trials and non-randomised controlled trials (including pseudo-randomised controlled trials) and the SCED scale for Single Participant design studies that are common in Speech-Language Pathology.
EBP Tutorials and Tools
- JAMAevidenceIncludes Users’ Guides to the Medical Literature (3rd ed); The Rational Clinical Examination; PowerPoint slide sets for EBM instruction; interactive worksheets; critical appraisal forms; and question wizards to help formulate clinical questions.
- JAMA Evidence: Education GuidesUnder Education Tab, a series of guides:
• An Approach to EBM
• Appraising the evidence on diagnostic tests, harm, prognosis, therapy, from systematic reviews.
• Appraising patient management recommendations: practice guidelines
• Appraising Qualitative Research
• Finding Current Best Evidence
• How to Use an Article about Quality Improvement
• What is the Question (includes PICO) - Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (Oxford U.)Tutorial & tools from Oxford University
- SUMSearch2SUMSearch 2 simultaneoulsy searches for studies(original studies and systematic reviews), and practice guidelines.
Critical Appraisal Tools
- Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM Oxford U.) Critical Appraisal WorksheetsGuide critical appraisal of articles about diagnosis, harm, prognosis, systematic reviews (of therapy), and therapy.
- Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) ChecklistsSet of eight critical appraisal tools are designed to be used when reading research, these include tools for Systematic Reviews, Randomised Controlled Trials, Cohort Studies, Case Control Studies, Economic Evaluations, Diagnostic Studies, Qualitative studies and Clinical Prediction Rule.
- LEGEND Evidence Evaluation Tools & Resources"Let Evidence Guide Every New Decision" or LEGEND Evaluation Tools and Resources from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Center for Health Systems Excellence. Includes downloadable appraisal forms for my study types (17) and domains of clinical question.
- KT Clearinghouse (CEBM-Toronto) Tips on Critical Appraisal of EvidenceIncludes Critical Appraisal Sheets for Diagnosis, Harm, Prognosis, Systematic Review (of therapy), Therapy; statistics calculators.
See, also, JAMA Evidence Education Guides in EBP Tutorials and Tools, above.