Skills for evidence-informed practice: Interactive workshop Cambridge 30 April 2009

First, a little about ripfa… We work to promote and support evidence- informed practice in adult health and social care We do this through: learning events publications our network, including a busy discussion forum change projects the website, joint work with research in practice

What we can achieve today A one-day introduction to key aspects of evidence-informed practice Focusing on the role of individuals as opposed to teams and organisations Practical guidance on core skills needed for evidence-informed practice Using groupwork and real examples to help messages stick What would you like to get from the day?

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

What is evidence- informed practice? What it means to be evidence- informed, and the case for EIP

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

What is evidence-informed practice? Put most simply, evidence-informed practice means that your decisions are informed by: Your own professional experience, The views and preferences of service users AND The best available research evidence It is different to evidence-based practice (EBP) - ‘evidence does not take decisions, people do’

Where is evidence needed? Identifying gaps and knowing what to ask

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

Identifying need for evidence Choosing a topic Related to day-to-day work; important for decision making in individual case or service level ‘Controversial’; area of work where people have different views or debate about Service user informed; one that service users ask or want to know more about Realistic; area in which it is likely to find evidence Policy led

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

Developing a specific question The importance of having a specific question Start the question with: ‘How…’, ‘What…’, ‘Why…’, ‘Who…’, etc. Effectiveness questions, exploratory questions and service users’ views questions Question’s ‘elements’: client group, setting/service, approach/intervention, outcome Be specific!

How do you find the evidence you need? Where to look and how

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

What can we cover today? Unravelling some of the jargon you will hear The best places to find research evidence on your topic How to carry out a straightforward online search Some legitimate shortcuts!

Finding the evidence you need – routes you can take Ask around! Carry out a search Do your own research ColleaguesLibrarians ripfa Topic experts Existing reviews and summaries Original papers and journal articles

Carrying out an online search Consider where you want to look Decide on your search terms Develop a search string Decide on any limits

Where will you look? ORGANISATION WEBSITES e.g. DH, SCIE, ripfa ONLINE DATABASES e.g. Social Care Online, SSCI, ASSIA INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES e.g. Google LIBRARIES In-house, local, university

Deciding on your search terms Look at the specific question you developed earlier Pick out the main words or phrases that describe what you’re looking for For each, think of as many alternative terms as possible with the same or similar meaning Ask friends and colleagues for suggestions You can add other terms later on – some of the first articles and websites you find might give you other ideas

Discussion point Brainstorm search terms

Develop a search string Combine your search terms into a string using Boolean searching Using AND limits your search e.g. Autism AND services Using OR broadens your search e.g Autism OR Asperger Syndrome Using brackets can help you combine lots of terms e.g. (Autism OR Asperger Syndrome) AND (Support OR Services)

Discussion point Make a search string

Think about your limits Placing limits can make the number of articles you find more manageable to deal with It can also ensure greater relevance For example, are you only interested in: Studies from the UK? Studies written in English? Studies published in the last five years? Studies about adults?

Social Care Online

Is the evidence good enough? Appraising and understanding research

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

Appraise the evidence What counts as good evidence? Information on the Web: the double-edged sword Appraising research (journal articles and books) Is the purpose of the research stated clearly? Who funds it? Clear research questions and defined concepts Is the choice of research methods justified? Are the participants (the sample) chosen appropriately? Is the data analysis sound? Have ethical considerations been paid attention to? Advanced research appraisal – comparing research projects

Exercise Please identify strengths and weaknesses of the evidence presented in the articles

Being evidence-informed – key steps Inform practice! Check its relevance Check quality of evidence Find the evidence you need Develop a specific question Identify a need for evidence Understand evidence-informed practice

How relevant is the evidence? Bias is not a ‘dirty word’; what is your bias? Always look at the counter-arguments Opposing evidence sometime tell more than commonality in evidence Appraising the relevance: client group, context, interventions, outcomes Who is in a position to make these judgements?

How do you make a change? Translating key messages and influencing practice

Getting evidence into practice Do you want to: Change your own practice? Encourage others to change their practice? Suggest a change to the way a service is provided? Only you can change your own practice – but support from colleagues and managers can help Remember EIP is also about sharing information So whether you are suggesting large-scale change or simply changing the way you do things yourself, the following exercise may be useful…

Presenting your evidence effectively: The SCAM model S ource – who delivers the message? C hannel – how are you sending the message? A udience – who are you sending the message to? M essage – what is your message?

One final exercise… Using the evidence you have found today, make a proposal for a change to a service or an aspect of practice - The change you are proposing can be at any level - YOU decide whether you are practitioners, service users, someone else, or a mixture - YOU decide who your audience is – perhaps a service-user organisation, management group, or team meeting?

Thank you. Please contact us if you need any further information: