Topic:   Evidence-Based Medicine:

Summarizing the Evidence for Clinical Use

Presenter:     FRED WOLF, PH.D.

Objectives:

• To distinguish among various types of decision support systems
• To distinguish among various methods of interpreting and communicating evidence, including risk reduction, risk difference, reduction in odds, improvement in survival rates, and the number of patients needed to treat to prevent one adverse effect
• To interpret reviews in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

Introduction:

The translation of research findings into improved quality and efficiency of care is critical for research to be of ultimate practical value. How findings are interpreted is critical when physicians and patients make health care decisions. The underlying assumption is to provide the highest quality, most effective health care given a particular patient’s situation.

Sometimes it is not evident that different results are derived from the same underlying data. The purpose of this module is to provide some background information to identify the effectiveness of the evidence.

This project is a joint effort of the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine
and the United States Centers for Disease Control. It is an approved APEC project.