Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an approach that aims to improve the process through which high-quality scientific research evidence can be obtained and translated into the best practical decisions to improve health. The interprofessional model of EBP emphasizes shared decision-making within the context of the most important advances of the various health professions. The model depicts three data streams that are integrated in the decision-making process: evidence, resources, and patient characteristics. Health professionals can play several different roles in the EBP process, including primary researchers, systematic reviewers, and clinicians. Carrying out the EBP process involves five steps, including Ask, Acquire, Appraise, Apply, and Analyze and Adjust. A new generation of research designs, such as the Sequential Multiphased Adaptive Randomized Trial, has been put forward to develop treatment algorithms that optimally capture the Apply, Analyze and Adjust steps of the EBP process.