EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE

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EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
Evidence based practice is the integration of clinical expertise, patient values, and the best research evidence into the decision making process of patient`s care. Evidence-based practice can also be defined as the systematic process of finding, analyzing, and using the best available, scientifically
sound research to guide therapists in decision making so that clients may be treated with the most powerful, effective, and safe interventions (Dysart , 60).
The primary goal of scientific health professions is to translate research into clinical practice and this is the idea behind evidence based practice. The reason for occupational therapy research is to validate occupational therapy as a profession and to aid in the clinician`s decision making process. The goals for this research include theory development, evaluation of tests and measurement, identification of treatment intervention effects, increasing professional knowledge base for clinical reasoning and contributing to society`s understanding of occupation (MacEwan et al, 276)
Before EBP, clinicians tended to rely on other forms of evidence such as the voice of an expert, uncritical acceptance of the findings of a single published study or a published manual and the reliance of our own previous experienced and of the experiences around us. This did not always yield the best treatment plan or strategy so SBP came into use.
The various ways to obtain evidence include;
* Obtaining evidence from clinically relevant research that has been conducted using sound methodology
* The patient bringing his or her own personal and unique concerns, expectations and values
* Clinical expertise i.e. the clinician`s experience (Stillwell et al, 42)
The steps for implementing EBP are as follows ;( MacEwan et al, 276)
* Formulating a clinical question
* Searching for relevant literature
* Analysing results for validity, reliability and usefulness
* Implementing result
* Evaluating the evidence-based assessment and intervention procedures as they are implemented and revise
Clinical questions are identified which reflect the information needed to make clinical decisions which also take into account the type of client or client groups being treated as well as the context in which treatment occurs. A literature search is then undertaken to identify research evidence available to answer the question.
When seeing a client, new information is required in order to solve a clinical problem and make treatment decisions. These questions may relate to specific clients. The types of questions asked reflect the core clinical tasks of occupational therapy practice. These may be questions concerning diagnosis, treatment or prevention and diagnosis.
The main challenge of EBP is asking the questions to the clients but the following questions may be asked;
* Do these results apply to...