Evidence-Based Medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research . . . External clinical evidence both invalidates previously accepted diagnostic tests and treatments and replaces them with new ones that are more powerful, more accurate, more efficacious, and safer (Sackett et al. 1996).
Evidence-based practice is a broader term used for many health fields and described as "a problem-solving approach to the delivery of health care that integrates the best evidence from studies and patient care data with clinician expertise and patient preferences and values. When delivered in a context of caring and in a supportive organizational culture, the highest quality of care and best patient outcomes can be achieved" (Melnyk et al., 2009).
This diagram shows the three components of evidence-based practice as it relates to making clinical decisions for individuals. The library can help you with finding resources containing the most current or relevant evidence while you learn how to apply it.
Ackley, B. (2015). Evidence-based practice. In Understanding Medical Surgical Nursing, 5th ed (pp. 12–18). F.A. Davis Company.
Melnyk, B. M., Fineout-Overholt, E., Stillwell, S. B., & Williamson, K. M. (2009). Evidence-based practice: Step by step: Igniting a spirit of inquiry: An essential foundation for evidence-based practice. AJN, The American Journal of Nursing, 109(11), 49.
Melnyk, B. M., Fineout-Overholt, E., Stillwell, S. B., & Williamson, K. M. (2010). Evidence-based practice: Step by step: The seven steps of evidence-based practice. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 110, 51-53. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000366056.06605.d2
Sackett, D. L., Rosenberg, W. M., Gray, J. M., Haynes, R. B., & Richardson, W. S. (1996). Evidence based medicine: What it is and what it isn't. BMJ 312. pp. 71-72
Schub, E., Walsh, K. & Pravikoff D. (Ed.) (2017). Evidence-based nursing practice: Implementing [Skill Set]. Nursing Reference Center Plus
It can help to consider the level of evidence that a document represents, for example, a scientific article that summarizes and analyses many similar articles may provide more insight than the conclusion of a single research article. This is not to say that summaries can not be flawed, nor does it suggest that rare case studies should be ignored. The aim of health research is the well-being of all people, therefore it is important to use current evidence in light of patient preferences in negotiation with clinical expertise.
The 6S Pyramid proposes a structure of quantitative evidence where articles that include pre-appraised and pre-synthesized studies are located at the top of the hierarchy (McMaster U., n.d.).
Schub & Walsh explain that:
While it is accepted that the strongest evidence is derived from meta-analyses, various evidence grading systems exist. for example: the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice model ranks evidence from level I to level V, as follows (Seben et al., 2010):The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) evidence level system, updated in 2009, ranks evidence as follows (Armola et al., 2009):
- Level I: Meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs); experimental studies; RCTs
- Level II: Quasi-experimental studies
- Level III: Non-experimental or qualitative studies
- Level IV: Opinions of nationally recognized experts based on research evidence or an expert consensus panel
- Level V: Opinions of individual experts based on non-research evidence (e.g., case studies, literature reviews, organizational experience, and personal experience)
- Level A: Meta-analysis of multiple controlled studies or meta-synthesis of qualitative studies with results that consistently support a specific action, intervention, or treatment
- Level B: Well-designed, controlled randomized or non-randomized studies with results that consistently support a specific action, intervention, or treatment
- Level C: Qualitative, descriptive, or correlational studies, integrative or systematic reviews, or RCTs with inconsistent results
- Level D: Peer-reviewed professional organizational standards, with clinical studies to support recommendations
- Level E: Theory-based evidence from expert opinion or multiple case reports
- Level M: Manufacturers’ recommendations (2017)
Click on the pyramid text or scroll to view resources described by each level of evidence. Page source: EBM Pyramid and EBM Page Generator for Evidence-Based Mental Health Resources by Jan Glover, David Izzo, Karen Odato and Lei Wang.
Unfiltered are resources that are primary sources describing original research. Randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case-controlled studies, and case series/reports are considered unfiltered information.
Filtered are resources that are secondary sources which summarize and analyze the available evidence. They evaluate the quality of individual studies and often provide recommendations for practice. Systematic reviews, critically-appraised topics, and critically-appraised individual articles are considered filtered information.
Armola, R. R., Bourgault, A. M., Halm, M. A., Board, R. M., Bucher, L., Harrington, L., ... Medina, J. (2009). AACN levels of evidence. What's new? Critical Care Nurse, 29(4), 70-73. doi:10.4037/ccn2009969
DiCenso, A., Bayley, L., & Haynes, R. B. (2009). Accessing pre-appraised evidence: Fine-tuning the 5S model into a 6S model. BMJ Evidence-Based Nursing, 12(4) https://ebn.bmj.com/content/12/4/99.2.short
Glover, J., Izzo, D., Odato, K. & Wang, L. (2008). Evidence-based mental health resources. EBM Pyramid and EBM Page Generator. Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved. Retrieved April 28, 2020 from http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/resources.htmld/guides/ebm_psych_resources.html
Haynes, R. B. (2001). Of studies, syntheses, synopses, and systems: The “4S” evolution of services for finding current best evidence. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 6(2), 36-38.
Haynes, R. B. (2006). Of studies, syntheses, synopses, summaries, and systems: the “5S” evolution of information services for evidence-based healthcare decisions. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, 11(6), 162-164.
McMaster University (n.d.). 6S Search Pyramid Tool https://www.nccmt.ca/capacity-development/6s-search-pyramid
Schub, E., Walsh, K. & Pravikoff D. (Ed.) (2017). Evidence-based nursing practice: Implementing [Skill Set]. Nursing Reference Center Plus
Seben, S., March, K. S., & Pugh, L. C. (2010). Evidence-based practice: The forum approach. American Nurse Today, 5(11), 32-34.
Implementing evidence-based practice involves forming clinical questions about the people who are under your care in a given condition. Forming a clinical question is an early step in the process of evidence-based practice. PICO is a useful way of formulating clinical research questions and a well-build question or problem should include the four components of the model:
The PICO model can be used in any database, but there are also other search systems designed to work with PICO phrases
Schub, E., Walsh, K. & Pravikoff D. (Ed.) (2017). Evidence-based nursing practice: Implementing [Skill Set]. Nursing Reference Center Plus
Data and statistics can be difficult to search for. It's helpful to think about the following when you're searching for this kind of information: It takes time to collect, analyze, and publish data. Sometimes the most recent available data is a few years old. National and state data are more prevalent than city/town data. Sometimes you'll find published data sets, which contain raw, unanalyzed data. See the Tips for Searching Google box on this page for help finding analyzed, ready-to-use statistics. Data can be taken out of context, cherry-picked, or manipulated to support a particular point of view. If you're not sure you can trust a source, try to verify the information in a second source
You'll find some "best bets" for finding demographic and health statistics below. You'll probably save yourself some time by searching these first. But if you can't still find the information you're looking for, see what you can find by searching Google. These tips will help you do a more effective Google search: Look for sites that end in .gov. City and town websites have lots of local demographic and health information. If you find a .org site, look into the organization. Would they have any reason to present biased information? Look for reports, overviews, and snapshots when you're looking for quick facts. You'll need a lot of time (and probably some advanced tools and knowledge) to find the information you want in a data set. If you find a source that cites data from somewhere else, try to find the original source. Pay attention to when data was collected. A report published this year could cite data that's much older.
