Evidence-Based Healthcare: A Practical Guide for Therapists

This volume has been written to provide therapists with an easy-to-read, practical guide to understanding what evidence-based healthcare means and how it can be applied in therapy settings. Through individual practitioner-patient interventions, and in agreeing and assuring the quality and effectiveness of service contracts, this approach should derive benefits for patients and values for money services. The book begins by presenting an overview of evidence-based healthcare and clinical effectiveness, what the terms mean and what their implications are for practitioners, consumers, managers and purchasers of healthcare. The book goes on to provide detailed information to allow readers to develop specific skills which are necessary to achieve evidence-based healthcare. Technical skills include finding and critically appraising research evidence. The process of clinical audit is described, as both a tool with which to implement the findings of research, and to evaluate practice. In summary, this work integrates knowledge and skills relating to the key elements of evidence-based healthcare, with a practical and behaviourial approach to achieving real changes in practice and improvements for patients.