Evidence-Based Decision Making: A Translational Guide for Dental Professionals » (1st Edition)

This concise, hands-on text provides a method for making evidence-based decisions in practice. The book presents a step-by-step approach to mastering the five essential skills of evidence-based decision making-formulating patient-centered questions, searching for the appropriate evidence, critically appraising the evidence, applying the evidence to practice, and evaluating the process. Five Case Scenarios are used throughout the book and cover the broad areas of therapy/prevention, diagnosis, etiology/harm/causation, and prognosis. Each chapter has objectives, suggested activities, a quiz, critical thinking questions, and exercises.

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:William M Davidson, DMD, PhD(University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery)
Description:Evidence-based medicine or dentistry is considered the basis for objective, scientific decision-making. As the concept is relatively new, most practitioners, faculty, and students have not been trained in the techniques of assessing the literature to be able to apply these techniques to improving the quality of their clinical care. This self-teaching book, with examples of clinical cases, worksheets, and self assessments, is thorough, well organized, and tightly written. Mastery of the information takes time and effort, but the effort is well worth the outcome, the development of evidence-based decision making skills.
Purpose:The purpose is to help readers learn the skills of evidence-based decision making, important skills for all practitioners. The authors meet their goals with this well organized manual, completion of which will result in better assessment of the literature and better decision making.
Audience:This book is suitable for practitioners, faculty and students. It is organized for self learning, but would also make an excellent text for students and residents. The authors direct the book broadly to dental professionals at all levels.
Features:Organized as a teaching manual into nine chapters, the book starts with asking appropriate questions and moves through levels of evidence, finding and evaluating evidence, applying the evidence to practice, and evaluating the reader's performance. Several clinical examples are followed throughout the book which illustrate the principles of evidence-based decision making. The book is very useful in teaching readers to find and evaluate information on the web. The workbook exercises are challenging and useful and there is an excellent glossary, appendix, and index.
Assessment:With this book, readers are expected to take an active role in learning the basics of evidence-based decision making and it is not a casual read. The effort expended in studying the text and examples and completing the worksheets is well worth it. Upon completion of this book, readers will have a far better foundation in finding and assessing the scientific literature of dentistry and medicine, constructing studies, and applying the principles to patient care.

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction to Evidence-Based Decision Making

Chapter 2: PICO: Asking Good Questions
Skill 1: Converting Information Needs/Problems Into Clinical Questions So That They Can Be Answered

Chapter 3: Research Design and Sources of Evidence

Chapter 4: Levels of Evidence

Chapter 5 Finding the Evidence: Using PICO to Guide the Search
Skill 2: Conducting a Computerized Search with Maximum Efficiency for Finding the Best External Evidence with Which to Answer the Question

Chapter 6: Critical Appraisal of the Evidence
Skill 3: Critically Appraising the Evidence for its Validity and Usefulness

Chapter 7: Evaluating Web-Based Health Information

Chapter 8: Applying the Evidence to Practice
Skill 4: Applying the Results of the Appraisal, or Evidence, in Clinical Practice

Chapter 9: Evaluating the Process and Your Performance
Skill 5: Evaluating the Process and Your Performance

Appendix: Complete EBDM Worksheet

Glossary

Index