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Tools to help NHS staff who are undertaking systematic searches for best-evidence and critical appraisal.
Top tools for finding evidence for NHS users...
- Check the Queen Square Clinical Governance page (NB: UCLH intranet site - restricted to UCLH users).
- View a list of NICE guidelines relevant to NHNN.
- Try a search of Cochrane Library and TRIP database.
- Try a more general search using healthcare databases via NHS OpenAthens.
For access to these key tools and others, visit the UCLH Healthcare Evidence Resources website (NB: UCLH intranet site - restricted to UCLH users) and the UCLH Research Database, listing ongoing trials at UCLH.
...tools for Critical appraisal:
The Queen Square Library does not currently offer training in critical appraisal, though some support for UCLH staff may be available via the Cruciform Library team. You might also find the following tools useful:
- CASP: Critical Appraisal Skills Programme offers tools to help you critically appraise different types of article.
- Barts Health videos on how to critically appraise a randomized controlled trial following the CASP checklist.
- Kings College London slide sets covering Critical Appraisal of Qualitative Methods and Critical Appraisal of Quantitative Methods.
...and a few more useful tools for finding evidence:
- BESTBets (UK) - Best Evidence Topics developed in the Emergency Department of Manchester Royal Infirmary, UK, to provide rapid evidence-based answers to real-life clinical questions, using a systematic approach to reviewing the literature.
- BMJ Best Practice - a point of care decision-making tool (UCL users).
- Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (UK)
- Centre for Health Economics (UK)
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Cochrane Library - the primary source of information about the effectiveness of healthcare interventions. From the Cochrane Collaboration
- Current Controlled Trials - (USA) ISRCTN registry of clinical trials recognised by WHO and ICMJE (accepts all clinical research studies, whether proposed, ongoing or completed)
- NICE: National Institute for Clinical Excellence (UK).
- NiH RePORTER
- National Service Framework for Longterm Conditions (UK)
- NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (UK)
- PubMed's Clinical Queries tool - a specialized PubMed tool to focus your search on particular clinical categories (etiology, diagnosis, therapy, prognosis).
- UK Clinical Trials Gateway - a searchable listing of health and social care research being undertaken within the UK
- UpToDate - An evidence-based knowledge system authored by physicians to help clinicians make the right decisions at the point of care.