A senior public-health decision maker told me not long ago, “Evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) is devilishly hard work that requires stamina, patience, time and a great deal of support.” In many instances, when we are faced with learning new skills or behaviors, tools that guide us and/or provide support go a long way toward helping us achieve our goals. Learning to practice in an evidence-informed way is no different.  |
| Maureen Dobbins |
Previous columns in this series have described EIDM. In all steps of the process, practitioners are required to learn new skills, whether they involve turning practice-based issues into searchable questions, critiquing research studies, determining a relative risk ratio or interpreting the significance of a 95 percent confidence interval. The task may seem daunting to some, particularly if they are not aware of the many EIDM tools and resources at their disposal. In this column, I identify some of the EIDM resources available for use by frontline clinicians, managers and senior administrators.Canada’s National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) provides leadership and shares its expertise on what works in public health. While its primary target audiences include public health managers and professionals across Canada, its online products and services, with modification, could be used by a much broader array of health professionals, policy-makers, researchers and students.
Evidence-Informed Public Health is a resource that walks users through the EIDM process, providing definitions and additional questions to consider. DialoguePH is a network designed to help public health professionals share methods and tools that facilitate knowledge synthesis, translation and exchange. While public health-focused, these methods and tools are transferrable to other health disciplines.
Public Health +, available through the McMaster Health Knowledge Refinery, identifies and makes available high-quality published research that is both newsworthy and relevant to practice. Professionals who become members of this service can more easily stay abreast of the most recently published high-quality evidence. Finally, the NCCMT houses a registry of knowledge translation methods and tools for public health. Methods and tools on public-health knowledge translation are identified, critically appraised and posted on this searchable, freely accessible site.
Another source for EIDM tools is www.health-evidence.ca. Through a link on the home page, users can access a variety of tools that support health care professionals as they proceed through the EIDM process. For example, one tool is a checklist of steps in the process that help professionals assess progress. Another tool assists professionals in developing an efficient search strategy, while yet another tool guides and tracks search results. In total, seven EIDM tools are available through health-evidence.ca. It is hoped that health professionals will access and use these tools, and provide feedback on how the tools could be improved.
These are examples of tools available from only two organizations. There are many others worldwide. The action message for those involved in EIDM is to seek help and guidance by accessing these and other tools as you proceed through this journey. The tools have been created in response to professionals who have indicated they need support as they learn and implement new skills and behaviors. I encourage you to use them and to modify or adapt them to suit your needs. Remember to provide feedback to the producers of these resources on how you used them, if they were helpful and how to improve them. RNL
Maureen Dobbins, RN, PhD, associate professor at McMaster University School of Nursing in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and career scientist, Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-Term Care, is a founder and primary investigator for www.health-evidence.ca, a free, searchable online registry of public health review evidence that saves researchers time and effort in locating, screening and assessing the quality of evidence for improved decision making. Dobbins also serves on the editorial board of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, published by Wiley-Blackwell and the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International.
