Links

This page contains links to related web sites that you may find useful. Try the following:

• Evidence resources for health care
• Evidence resources for specific disciplines
• Evidence resources for specific countries
• Resources for evidence-based practice
• Consumer resources

Evidence resources for health care

The Cochrane Library
Cochrane systematic reviews provide the best available source of information about the efficacy of health care interventions. Residents of some countries have free access to the full text of the systematic reviews in the Cochrane Library. Abstracts of Cochrane systematic reviews related to physiotherapy have been reproduced in the PEDro database. Evidently Cochrane is a blog produced by the Cochrane UK to share health evidence published in the Cochrane Library. For more information about Cochrane visit the Cochrane homepage, one of the Cochrane Geographic Groups (such as the Cochrane Australia) or Cochrane Rehabilitation.

National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Evidence and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE)
NIHR Evidence have been producing summaries of new research published in 2015 to present. Before 2015, DARE produced a database of quality-reviewed systematic reviews. Some of the systematic reviews indexed on PEDro have DARE commentaries, links to these are available in the PEDro Detailed Search Results page.

Turning Research into Practice (TRIP) database
Direct, hyperlinked access to full text high quality systematic reviews, randomised trials and guidelines, organised by area of clinical practice.

PubMed
A user friendly, web-based Medline interface. PubMed includes a Clinical Queries facility to assist clinicians find Medline citations on prevention, treatment, prognosis, diagnosis, aetiology and much more.

SUMSearch 2
A brilliant search engine, designed to help users perform optimal searches for a range of clinical questions. SUMSearch 2 is similar to PubMed Clinical Queries, but it searches a much broader literature.

Joanna Briggs Institute
The Joanna Briggs Institute is an international collaboration of nursing, medical and allied health researchers, clinicians and academics. This site provides a range of resources to support evidence-based practice. Some areas of the site require subscription.

Free medical journals
Who said there was no such thing as a free lunch? This site links to free medical journals.

Evidence resources for specific disciplines

OTseeker
OTseeker is a database that contains systematic reviews and randomised controlled trials relevant to occupational therapy. Trials are rated using the PEDro scale to help users to judge the quality and usefulness of trials for informing clinical interventions. Note: the database has not been updated since 2017.

NeuroBITE
NeuroBITE (formerly PsycBITE) is a database that catalogues studies of cognitive, behavioural and other treatments for psychological problems and issues occurring as a consequence of acquired brain impairment. The types of studies contained on this database are practice guidelines, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, case series, single-case experimental designs, and single case non-experimental designs. Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials are rated using a variant of the PEDro scale and single case experimental designs are evaluated using the RoBiNT scale.

speechBITE
SpeechBITE is a database of intervention studies across the scope of speech pathology practice. Studies on this database include practice guidelines, systematic reviews, randomised controlled trials, non-randomised controlled trials, case series, and single case experimental designs. Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials are rated using a variant of the PEDro scale.

Research and Training Center on Early Childhood Development
This site is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the healthy development of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, with or at risk for developmental delays or disabilities.

Evidence resources for specific countries

There are some great information resources available to Health Department employees in Australia. These sites provide single-site access to the full text of the Cochrane Library, OVID access to Medline and CINAHL, clinical guidelines, and much more. The sites are password protected. Health Department employees can obtain passwords from their institutions’ technology support departments. The site addresses by state are:

• New South Wales (Clinical Information Access Portal, CIAP). Provides access to PEDro through the NSW Health intranet under “Evidence-Based Practice” in the left navigation bar
• Queensland (Clinicians Knowledge Network)
• Victoria (Clinicians Health Channel)
• Western Australia (WA Health Libraries Network)
• South Australia (SA Health Library Service, SALUS)
• Tasmania (Electronic Portal for Online Clinical Help, EPOCH)
• Australian Capital Territory (ACT Health Library & Multimedia Services)
• Northern Territory (NT Health Library Services)

Clinical Practice Guidelines Portal
Indexes clinical practice guidelines developed for use in Australian health care settings. All guidelines have been approved by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
Provides database access to National Health Service (United Kingdom) employees. Free global access to NICE guidelines is also available.

Resources for evidence-based practice

CONSORT Statement
CONSORT is the acronym for the “Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials”. The CONSORT Statement is a minimum set of evidence-based recommendations for the reporting of randomised controlled trials.

PRISMA Statement
PRISMA is the acronym for the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses”. The PRISMA Statement is a minimum set of evidence-based items for the reporting in systematic reviews.

Registration of clinical trials and systematic reviews
Registration of clinical trials and systematic reviews avoids duplication of effort and prevents selective reporting and publication bias. Additionally, clinical trial registration may assist in the recruitment of participants and make identification of trials for systematic reviews easier. Pinto et al (2013) demonstrated that registration of randomised controlled trials of physiotherapy interventions is very low and rarely prospective. To address this, the International Society of Physiotherapy Journal Editors (ISPJE) recommends that member journals implement a policy for the prospective registration of trials, as described in an editorial published in several ISPJE-member journals. Clinical trials can be registered in free, publicly available, and electronically searchable registers such as ClinicalTrials.gov and the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry. Information on clinical trials from different registers can be found at the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Registration of systematic reviews is also free and open to anyone; available registers include the Cochrane Library and Prospero.

The PEDro Partnership endorse the All Trials Registered – All Results Reported petition. To add your support for the petition click on the icon below.

Students 4 Best Evidence
This site is a network of resources for healthcare students interested in evidence-based practice.

International Centre for Allied Health Evidence (iCAHE)
Provides essential resources for allied health workers, researchers, educators, clinicians, policy makers, administrators and patients, by providing a repository for research in a range of areas from physiotherapy through to medical radiation. The Centre provides a unique opportunity to produce evidence-based solutions to allied health problems and ensure that treatment strategies are based on the best evidence and research available.

EBM Toolkit
Some very useful tools produced by those very clever Canadians.

Visual Rx
A calculator that generates NNTs from other measures of the size of a treatment effect (relative risks, odds ratios or absolute risk reductions) and a clever way of visualising what the NNTs really mean.

Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine
One of the hubs of evidence-based medicine. This site includes an updated version of the levels of evidence table.

Critical appraisal
If you want more advice on how to read clinical trials (or other forms of clinical evidence) you could consult the classic (still un-rivalled) CMAJ/JAMA User’s Guides or Steve Simon’s How to read a medical journal article. If you don’t want to travel so far, or read very much, try the PEDro tutorials.

Finding and Appraising the Evidence
Six on-line modules written by Amanda Burls and Anne Brice for HealthKnowledge. The modules focus on how to find the evidence and then how to assess the validity and reliability of the published research in order to provide effective and efficient healthcare.

European Union Evidence Based Medicine Unity Project
The EU-EBM Unity Project provides on-line training in the five steps of evidence-based practice plus train-the-trainer curriculum in English, German, Italian, Polish, and French.

Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE)
The Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument evaluates the process of practice guideline development and the quality of reporting. The original AGREE Instrument has been updated. This site contains information and resources about the new AGREE II Instrument.

World Physiotherapy
World Physiotherapy actively promotes evidence-based physiotherapy.

Consumer resources

Healthdirect
Provides easy access to trusted, quality health information and advice online and over the phone. The website provides links to thousands of resources on the websites of trusted Australian organisations. It is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to help you make informed choices anywhere, any time.

Healthfinder
A database of government and nonprofit health and human services information on the internet.

Informed Health Online
Formerly the Cochrane Consumer Network website, Informed Health Online is a database of Cochrane reviews summarised for consumers.

PEDro’s Consumer search
A search interface for consumers for the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro).

We welcome suggestions for new, high quality links for resources to support evidence-based practice. To make a suggestion please contact us.