Medicine

Evidence Based Practics is about using the best available evidence (eg the results of case studies, cohort studies clinical trials, etc) to inform clinical practice.

The steps in locating evidence include:

• Identifying the clinical problem
• Formulating a relevant answerable question
• Selecting the best sources to search
• Searching for and appraising the evidence that you find
• Assessing its relevance to your question
• Acting on or applying the evidence to your clinical situation

In formulating a question, a good technique to use is to take your clinical problem and apply the PICO method

P - Population or Patient group

I - Intervention or Indicator

C - Comparator or Control

O - Outcome

An example:

Clinical problem: A patient asks if drinking carrot juice will reduce the likelihood of developing prostate cancer.

Answerable clinical question:

P - In males

I - Does drinking carrot juice

C - Compared to not drinking carrot juice

O - Reduce the incidence of prostate cancer

This section of the guide will help you locate the best sources to search.