Research Guides: Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Resources: ACQUIRE

Finding Evidence-Based Answers to Clinical Questions

Use the options below to determine which sources may best fit your need.

What's your Question?

I Need: Overview of a particular disease, condition, or background information

For example:

What are the differences between depression and bipolar disorder?
I have a new patient with sickle cell anemia; I need an overview of this condition.

Resources to consider:

I Need: Drug Information

For example:

What is the pediatric dosage of erythromycin for strep throat?
What drugs have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer's?

Resources to consider:

I Need: A synthesis of best practice recommendations for disease management (critically-appraised topics)

For example:

What’s the latest on the management of panic disorder?
What’s the best method of pain control in children?

Resources to consider:

I Need: An answer to a narrow question that isn’t addressed in the synthesis resources (critically-appraised articles & unfiltered info)

For example:

In a 70 year old woman with primary insomnia and a previous adverse reaction to hypnotics, can cognitive behavior therapy improve sleep quality and duration?
In a toddler with croup, does dexamethasone (or glucocorticoids) reduce symptoms better than standard supportive care?

Resources to consider:

I Need: Evidence-based information about alternative therapies

For example:

Is melatonoin safe and effective for treating insomnia?
Does music therapy help surgical patients heal faster?

Resources to consider:

I Need: Information to share with patients

For example:

Where can I find some nutrition information for my newly-diagnosed patient with diabetes

Resources to consider:

*Table from the Dartmouth Biomedical Libraries. UC resources substituted for Dartmouth resources. Original handout available at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/resources.htmld/guides/FindingGoodAnswers.pdf.

Off Campus Access

How to Connect: When accessing a library resource, you may be prompted to login with your UC username and password. You may be required to complete Duo 2-Factor Authentication as well.

Additional Information for Connecting to Library Resources:

Affiliates login:

UC Health staff: register for access to UC library resources; once registered log in using 988 number issued by the HSL.
Children's Hospital (CCHMC) staff: log in with last name and CCHMC ID. Get Help: Contact CHMC Pratt Library prattlibrary@cchmc.org
Physicians with dual UC and CCHMC appointments: log in using the UC central login.

Finding the Information

To find the best information you need to choose the appropriate resources. Be sure to explore the following to determine the best source:

Commonly used databases include:

PubMed
PubMed is a free resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature with the aim of improving health. PubMed comprises more than 37 million citations and abstracts biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.
EMBASE
EMBASE (Excerpta Medica dataBASE) is a biomedical and pharmacological international database (1947 to present).
Coverage: 1966 - present
Trip
TRIP was created in 1997 to bring together all the evidence-based healthcare resources available on the Internet.

Searching Databases

Use your PICO question to develop concepts and synonyms. For example:

We are interested in cash benefits for people in poverty and how this improves healthcare utilization.
In PICO Format:
- P (people, problem): people in poverty
- I (intervention): cash benefits
- C (comparison): any other benefit/service or no benefit/service
- O (outcome): improve healthcare utilization

Combine your synonyms with boolean operators.

REMEMBER: synonyms are combined with OR and each concept of your PICO is combined with AND. Don't forget the parentheses!

P --> (people in poverty OR synonym 1 OR synonym 2)

AND

I --> (cash benefits OR synonym OR synonym)

AND

C --> (_____________ OR _____________ OR_____________)

AND

O --> (_____________ OR _____________ OR _____________)

The final search string will look something like:

(poverty OR low income OR indigent OR impoverished) AND (cash benefit OR cash transfer OR cash support) AND (healthcare utilization OR healthcare use)