Applying the evidence

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• Format Lessons
• Language/s English
• EBM Stage 3 - Appraising evidence, 4 - Decision making
• Duration >15 mins
• Difficulty Intermediate

Key Concepts addressed

• 3-2a Do the outcomes measured matter to you?
• 3-2b Are you very different from the people studied?
• 3-2c Are the treatments practical in your setting?
• 3-2d Do treatment comparisons reflect your circumstances?
• 3-3b How certain is the evidence?
• 2-3d Fair comparisons with few people or outcome events can be misleading
• 2-3h Don’t confuse “no evidence” with “no effect”

Details

This resource on applying evidence in practice has been produced by the University of Western Australia.

Introduction

Even if research evidence has internal validity, it often applies to the ‘ideal’ patient who has been selected for a clinical trial, and estimates an ‘average’ benefit for that patient. However, to decide whether you can apply that evidence to your patient, you must consider:

• that individual’s characteristics, preferences, values
• the environment in which you practice
• the practitioner’s expertise and familiarity with an intervention

You are now looking at external validity.

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