Practice Tools

We developed these tools in collaboration with Canadian public health professionals to:

• Help you find & use research evidence
• Help public health organizations document and share lessons learned

Have you used these tools?

Currently Available Tools

• Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM) Checklist
• Developing an Efficient Search Strategy Using PICO
• Levels & Sources of Public Health Evidence
• Resources to Guide & Track Your Search
• Keeping Track of Search Results: A Flowchart
• Briefing Note: Decisions, Rationale and Key Findings Summary
• Improving Future Decisions: Optimizing the Decision Process from Lessons Learned

Evidence-Informed Decision Making (EIDM) Checklist

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool is to provide a mechanism to:

• Track progress through the stages of the EIDM process (Step 1: Define; Step 2: Search; Step 3: Appraise; Step 4: Synthesize; Step 5: Adapt; Step 6: Implement; Step 7: Evaluate. The NCCMT Stages in Evidence-Informed Public Health, 2009)
• Link practical, relevant tools and resources used at each stage
• Document links within the organization (intranet, shared folders and drives) that can be used to share the process with others who may refer to it in the future

Developing an Efficient Search Strategy Using PICO

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool is to:

• Develop a clear, answerable question that can be used to generate a search strategy
• Identify key search terms to facilitate a more efficient search
• Document search strategies/terms for future search updates, either in the same or similar topics

Levels & Sources of Public Health Evidence

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool, together with Resources to Guide & Track Your Search, is to:

• Enable quick and easy access to the best available, public health-relevant evidence

Resources to Guide & Track Your Search

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool, together with Levels & Sources of Public Health Evidence, is to:

• Enable quick and easy access to the best available public health evidence
• Track hits and relevant results from an efficient search

Keeping Track of Search Results: A Flowchart

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool is to:

• Document, make it easy to share, and have an overview of search results

Briefing Note: Decisions, Rationale and Key Findings Summary

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool is to:

• Help decision makers to document and share what they learn from research evidence that contributes to decisions, including:
  • A description of the issue(s) that indicated there was a need to make a decision (change in practice, program, or policy)
  • The types and nature of the evidence (research and practice-based)
  • The options considered and the rationale for these options
  • the recommendations made and their rationale

Improving Future Decisions: Optimizing the Decision Process from Lessons Learned

The purpose of this evidence-informed decision making tool is to:

• Highlight positive aspects of the decision process and the decision itself
• Document barriers and facilitators to effective decision making in this particular case
• Capture lessons learned about the decision making process
• Document practical suggestions for the improvement of the decision making process and future decisions