A research blog?!?! While you might be tempted to click on one of the other, more practical blog posts, I’m hoping you’ll keep reading because I have some helpful resources to share with you!
As Research Division Director, I’ve considered ways to provide examples of research and evidence-based practice to facilitate understanding on the part of our membership. Certainly, when we think of research, a journal article may come to mind. And when we think of evidence-based practice, we might discern ways to combine quality research with clinical judgment and patient preferences to optimize hand therapy practice. Quality is the operative term, and the resources offered here can help you identify studies worthy of consideration for clinical practice.
Currently, the Research Division offers two opportunities for the critical appraisal of research studies. The first is our monthly Journal Club. Free to members, the Journal Club aims to enhance critical appraisal skills through a one hour, interactive, online discussion of an article from the Journal of Hand Therapy. The second is the Critically Appraising Research section of our new website. This section offers instruction on the Critical Appraisal Topic (CAT) tool as published by the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine.
In addition to ASHT resources, our parent organizations also offer completed critical appraisals as member benefits. The AOTA Evidence Exchange and APTA Hooked on Evidence are repositories of article reviews as submitted by members.
Perhaps the most extensive, the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) is a “free database of over 22,000 randomized trials, systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines”. If you submit “carpal tunnel” into the simple search, you will find 122 citations with PEDro scale scores included for clinical trials!
Assessment of quality will also take place at our annual meeting in San Diego next month. The “Journal Club Live” instructional course on Friday morning will include an introduction to grading scales and critical appraisal, and three scientific sessions will include the presentation of multiple papers chosen according to quality criteria. The meeting will certainly be rich with opportunities to learn about quality in research and evidence-based practice!
Hopefully, these resources will help you find the quality research that can positively influence your clinical practice. I look forward to seeing you in San Diego and online for our next Journal Club!
