PHTY20270

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, you should be able to:

1. Formulate a focused clinical question and systematically retrieve best available evidence.

2. Appraise Methodology of diagnostic accuracy studies, Randomised Controlled Trials, Systematic Reviews & Meta-analyses.

3. Understand statistics used in healthcare research eg Test Sensitivity/ Specificity, Relative Risk, Odds Ratio.

4. Justify assessment and treatment strategies based on empirical evidence.

5. Demonstrate an evidence-informed approach to professional decision-making.

6. Understand the need to monitor, evaluate and/or audit quality of practice and be able to critically evaluate one’s own practice against evidence-based standards.

Indicative Module Content:

Systematic Literature Searching
Critical Appraisal

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

Lectures
Active/task-based learning

AI/Academic Integrity:
Staff may utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) during the programme to support teaching and learning and it will be clearly indicated if and when AI is used. Students are prohibited from representing work as their own that they did not write, code or create. Submission of AI-generated content to this module by a student without explicit permission and attribution is not allowed and it may reflect unacceptable professional behaviour. This may result in the initiation of a student disciplinary procedure in accordance with the “University Student Code of Conduct and Academic Integrity Policy.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Evidence Based Practice PHTY20270
Recommended Reading 2025/26

Textbook:

Hoffmann, Bennett, Del Mar. Evidence-Based Practice Across the Health Professions, 4th Ed. Elsevier; 2023. Pages 1-40 available here on Google Books.

Straus, Glasziou, Richardson, Haynes. Evidence Based Medicine - How to Practice and Teach EBM. 5th Ed. Elsevier; 2019 E book in UCD library


Papers:

Andrade C. Understanding relative risk, odds ratio and related terms: as simple as it can get. Journal of clinical psychiatry 2015; 76(7):e857-e861. Available from UCD library

Dekkers OM, Groenwold RHH. Study design: what's in a name? Eur J Endocrinol. 2020 Dec;183(6):E11-E13. doi: 10.1530/EJE-20-0873. PMID: 33055302. Available here via Open Access

Greenland, Senn, Rothman, Carlin, Poole, Goodman, Altman. Statistical tests, p values, confidence intervals and power: a guide to misinterpretations. European Journal of Epidemiology 2016; 31;337-350. Available from UCD library



Websites:

Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation McMaster University

Centre for Evidence Based Medicine, Oxford University

Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews of Interventions

CONSORT Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials

Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Oxford

GRADE working group McMaster University

PRISMA Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

QUADAS Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies

Students 4 Best Evidence A network for students interested in evidence-based healthcare

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.