Occupational Therapy Guide for the OTA Program

Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-based practice, also called Evidence-Based Medicine, is a systematic process of appraising and using current research findings. It is a step-by-step process that includes formulating a clear clinical question of patient needs, searching the current literature, evaluating the literature and deciding which studies are valid and useful to the patient, applying the findings to the patient's care, and then evaluating the outcome.

Systematic Reviews

A systematic review focuses on a single question and tries to identify, appraise, select and synthesize all high-quality research evidence relevant to that question. It often uses the same techniques as the meta-analysis to combine valid research studies. The seven steps for preparing a systematic review as outlined by the Cochrane Handbook are: formulating the problem, locating & selecting studies, critical appraisal of the studies, collecting data, analyzing & presenting results, interpreting the results, improving & updating the systematic review.