EBP Review

PICOT stands for:

Population/ Patient Problem: Who is your patient? (Disease or Health status, age, race, sex)

Intervention: What do you plan to do for the patient? (Specific tests, therapies, medications)

Comparison: What is the alternative to your plan? (ie. No treatment, different type of treatment, etc.)

Outcome: What outcome do you seek? (Less symptoms, no symptoms, full health, etc.)

Time: What is the time frame? (This element is not always included.)

Other types of questions may arise: What causes the problem? ETIOLOGY, RISK
FACTORS What is the frequency of the problem? FREQUENCY Does this person
have the problem? DIAGNOSIS What is the typical course of the condition?
PROGNOSIS

EBP Study Guide for Lecture 1

What are the two fundamental principles of evidence based practice?
Define the evidence based triad
Define the evidence based practice cycle
Define the terms precision and accuracy as they are used in EBP
Identify the limitations of hierarchies of evidence and understand that the
hierarchy presented can still be useful as long as its limitations are considered
Define primary, secondary, surrogate and composite outcomes
Lecture 2: Formulating Clinical Questions and Searching for Evidence:

1. How to formulate a clinical question using PICO /PICO-T

2. What is the need to formulate a good clinical question?
3. When is it OK to use a broader search vs. a narrower or specific search term?
4. How to identify different levels of evidence
5. Searching for evidence and MeSH terms
6. Ways to evaluate internet evidence for Accuracy, authority, Bias, Currency and
Coverage
Lecture 3: Biostatistics:
1. What is difference between descriptive and inferential statistics
2. Evaluate measures of central tendency: Mean, Median and Mode, relationship
between them and when to use them.
3. What is the purpose of measures of variability: Range, IQ range, Variance and
standard deviation.
4. What is difference between the above mentioned measures of variability.
5. Identify different types of charts and Graphs

6. Basics of Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and II errors, statistical significance,

7. What is difference between statistical vs. clinical significance.
Lecture 3: Epidemiology and research designs:
1. What are the measures of Morbidity and Mortality
2. What is difference between the morbidity and mortality measures
3. Why is study of epidemiology significant? How does it apply to day-to day clinical
practice?
4. Incidence vs. prevalence of a disease? What is the relationship between them?

Lecture 4: Systematic Reviews and Meta Analysis:

1. What is the difference between a Systematic review vs. Meta-analysis
2. How to evaluate meta-analysis articles?
3. What is Homogeneity, Heterogeneity and test for homogeneity (Chi-square test)?
4. What is the purpose of a forest plot and What are the elements of a forest plot?
5. How to use a forest plot in clinical decision-making?

Lecture 5: Inferential Statistics and Research Designs:

1. What are the common knowledge gathering ways?
2. What are 4 different scales of measurements?
3. Identify methods of samplings? What is the difference between them?
4. Identify different types of Research Study Designs and their limitations.
5. Choosing A Research Study Design And Selecting A Population To Study

6. What are the different types of Validity (Construct, Internal and External),
7. What are the different types of Variables (IV vs. DV)? Explain the difference between them
and also be able to identify different independent and dependent variables in a study?
8. Hypothesis testing: Type 1 and Type II errors. What is the difference between them?
9. What are the characteristics of Type 1 and Type II errors?
10. Difference between statistical and clinical significance?
11. Different types of statistics used in Inferential statistics?
12. What does T-test measure?
13. What is Hawthrone effect, Demand Characteristics, Attrition in a study?
14. What is statistical significance and how is it measures?
15. What is P or Alpha value? How is it used in a study to draw inferences?