BOSTON UNIVERSITY
SARGENT COLLEGE OF HEALTH AND REHABILITATION SCIENCES
Department of Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Counseling
OT 620
Evidence Based Practice
Semester II, 2010
Wednesday 3-5pm*
SAR Room 101
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Jessica Kramer Email: kramerj@bu.edu Phone: 617-353-2702 |
Office: Rm 512 Office hours: Thursday 12:00- 1:00pm * Note that office hours occur 1 day after the class meeting; for questions regarding assignments due in class, please plan accordingly by coming to office hours the week prior to the due date. |
Course Description: This is a graduate-level course for occupational therapy students designed to develop essential skills for conducting evidence-based practice. We will focus in detail on appraising the internal, external, and statistical validity of evidence related to intervention effectiveness and predicting client outcomes. We will examine evidence gathered using a variety of quantitative methods including group designs and meta-analytic approaches. Readings have been selected from a variety of peer-reviewed journals related to health and disability to introduce students to the interdisciplinary literature that may provide valuable evidence for occupational therapy practice.
This class will not be taught in traditional lecture format. Rather, the core content of this course will be covered through self-study of structured lessons posted each week on CourseInfo. Most class time will be spent in small group assignments that provide practice applying the lesson content in critique of published literature. In order to benefit from the course and to master the essential material, it is critical that students study the assigned lessons carefully and complete any related practice exercises before class. The instructor will gladly address any questions about the lesson material during class.
Course Objectives: After completing the course the student will be able to:
1. Discuss the cumulative process of development of a body of knowledge and the various social, political, and cultural forces that may shape the process of knowledge development.
2. Use the PICO format to develop questions specific to particular client groups, interventions, and occupational outcomes.
3. Conduct efficient and effective searches of internet, library, and other resources to identify the most relevant and highest quality evidence to answer these questions.
4. Critically examine procedures, measures, and statistics used in intervention studies, and discuss the impact on study internal, external, and statistical validity.
5. Synthesize results from research studies in order to answer a clinical question based on analysis of internal, external and statistical validity as well as client and contextual factors.
6. Communicate the results of a research appraisal using the critically appraised topic (CAT) format.
7. Interpret research evidence to examine the relative effectiveness of intervention approaches for achieving a particular clinical outcome.
8. Interpret syntheses of research in order to answer a clinical question.
Full Syllabus: