Hi Ornissa

In addition to Sally’s comments, you can access critically appraised topics (CATs) on websites such as OT-CATs -  http://www.otcats.com/ - which contains over 40 topics relevant to occupational therapy and other allied health disciplines. The website contains ‘worked examples’ of appraisals, often with summaries of 2-3 studies. Some of the topics focus on questions about the effectiveness of interventions , while others appraise diagnostic tests and assessments, to determine the ‘best’ test for a given purpose and population

Several journals now also include 2 or more critically appraised papers (CAPs) – such as the Australian Occupational Therapy Journal -http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1440-1630

…as well as the Journal of Physiotherapy (previously the Australian J of Physiotherapy), Evidence-based Nursing and EBM.

Annie 

ANNIE McCLUSKEY |  PhD MA DipCOT  | 
Postdoctoral Research Fellow & Undergraduate Course Director (Occupational Therapy)
Discipline of Occupational Therapy
Faculty of Health Sciences                  

THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
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Dr McCluskey's fellowship is funded by the University of Sydney, the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney and the National Stroke Foundation

The Community-Based Health Care Research Unit (CBHCRU) is a joint initiative of the University of Sydney and the Royal Rehabilitation Centre Sydney. The CBHCRU is located at Ryde. CBHCRU researchers investigate the effectiveness of community-based and rehabilitation interventions, and the well-being of people with traumatic injuries and long-term chronic conditions.

The National Stroke Foundation (NSF) is a not-for-profit organisation that works with the public, government, health professionals, patients, carers and stroke survivors to reduce the impact of stroke on the Australian community. The NSF is committed to funding high quality research and has developed a research strategy which addresses gaps in knowledge and meets priority needs for stroke care.

Hi Ornissa

There are a number of texts and series of articles that have worked examples of articles that have been appraised that might be relevant to allied health:

Hoffmann T, Bennett S & Del Mar C.(Eds). (2010). Evidence-based practice across the health professions. Sydney: Elsevier  

This text includes worked critical appraisals of RCTs, Cohort studies, Diagnostic studies and Qualitative studies for many different health professions including medicine, nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, podiatry and some examples from nutrition, medical imaging and CAM. Chapters are also included on appraising systematic reviews and guidelines.

Taylor MC (2007). Evidence-based practice for occupational therapists. 2nd Ed Oxford; Malden, MA : Blackwell

This text includes worked critical appraisals of RCTs, Cohort studies, Diagnostic studies and Qualitative studies relevant for occupational therapists but could readily be used for other health professions also

There are of course the various series that walk you through appraisals called:

‘How to Read a Paper’ http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/readers/how-to-read-a-paper/  or “Users' Guides to the Medical Literature” articles in JAMA

The text by Herbert R, Jamtvedt G, Mead, J & Birger Hagen K. (2005). Practical evidence-based physiotherapy. Edinburgh : Elsevier Butterworth Heinemann  includes key points to consider for appraising RCTs, Cohort studies, Diagnostic/screening studies and Qualitative studies with references to a number of different studies relevant to physiotherapy but is also an excellent resource for other health professionals.

I’m sure there many other excellent resources …

Regards

Sally

Sally Bennett PHD

Senior Lecturer

Division of Occupational Therapy

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The University of Queensland

St Lucia

QLD 4072

Australia

Email: [log in to unmask]

Espace: https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/uqsbenn3

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