ARTICLE
Evidence-informed practice : tips for identifying quality research
Professor Sandra Grace | Faculty of Health , Southern Cross University and Director of ATMS
All healthcare practitioners have a responsibility to draw on the best evidence available to support their clinical practices . 1 To achieve that responsibility , practitioners need the skills to quickly assess the quality of research and its relevance to their practices . The most common definition of evidence-based practice comes from David Sackett , 2 a pioneer in the field . Evidence-based practice is ‘ the conscientious , explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient . It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research ’ ( p . 71 ). Sackett described evidencebased practice as a three-legged stool , representing the integration of clinical expertise , patient values , and the best research evidence into the decisionmaking process for patient care ( see Figure 1 ). This recognition of the importance of practitioners ’ clinical judgement and valuing the patient ’ s preferences for their own healthcare led to the term ‘ evidence-informed practice ’. This term highlights that drawing on scientific evidence is only ever part of delivering quality care to clients .
Figure 1 . Evidence-based practice
134 | vol27 | no3 | JATMS