Abstract
Dijkers MP, Murphy SL, Krellman J. Evidence-based practice for rehabilitation professionals:
concepts and controversies.
This article describes evidence-based practice (EBP) in the health professions and
sciences in general and in the rehabilitation disciplines specifically. It discusses
the following: what counts as evidence and how that has changed over the last 4 decades,
trends in the short history of evidence-based medicine and EBP, the fallacious nature
of most criticisms of EBP, (perceived) shortcomings of clinical research and the resulting
evidence in rehabilitation, resources available to clinicians who want their practice
to be evidence-based, and the barriers these clinicians face in keeping up with the
evidence and applying it in practice. Lastly, it describes how the development of
a new art and science, knowledge translation, may play a role in truly making EBP
feasible in rehabilitation services.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
AJOT (American Journal of Occupational Therapy), AOTA (American Occupational Therapy Association), APTA (American Physical Therapy Association), CAT (critically appraised topic), CI (confidence interval), CPG (clinical practice guideline), EBM (evidence-based medicine), EBP (evidence-based practice), GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation), NNT (number needed to treat), OT (occupational therapy), PBE (practice-based evidence), PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database), PLUS (Premium LiteratUre Service), PT (physical therapy), RCT (randomized controlled trial), SMD (standardized mean difference), SLP (speech and language pathology), SR (systematic review), SSD (single subject design)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 11, 2012
Footnotes
Supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education Services, Department of Education (grant no. H133A080053).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
In-press corrected proof published online on Jun 7, 2012, at www.archives-pmr.org.
Reprints are not available from the author.
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© 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
