Abstract
BackgroundHealth educators need rigorously developed instruments to evaluate cognitive skills relating to evidence based practice (EBP). Previous EBP evaluation instruments have focused on the acquisition and appraisal of the evidence and are largely based in the medical profession. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an EBP evaluation instrument to assess EBP cognitive skills for entry-level health professional disciplines.MethodsThe Fresno test of competence in evidence based medicine was considered in the development of the 'Knowledge of Research Evidence Competencies' instrument (K-REC). The K-REC was reviewed for content validity. Two cohorts of entry-level students were recruited for the pilot study, those who had been exposed to EBP training (physiotherapy students, n = 24), and who had not been exposed to EBP training (human movement students, n = 76). The K-REC was administered to one cohort of students (n = 24) on two testing occasions to evaluate test-retest reliability. Two raters independently scored the first test occasion (n = 24) to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the marking guidelines. Construct validity was assessed by comparison of the two groups, 'exposed' and 'non-exposed', and the percentage of students achieving a 'pass' score in each of these groups. Item difficulty was established.ResultsAmong the 100 participants (24 EBP 'exposed', and 76 EBP 'non-exposed' students), there was a statistically significant (p < 0.0001) difference in the total K-REC scores. The test-retest and inter-rater reliability of the individual items and total scores ranged from moderate to excellent (measured by Cohen's Kappa and ICC, range: 0.62 to perfect agreement).ConclusionsThe K-REC instrument is a valid and reliable evaluation instrument of cognitive skills of EBP in entry-level student health professionals. The instrument is quick to disseminate and easy to score, making it a suitable instrument for health educators to employ to evaluate students' knowledge of EBP or in the evaluation of entry-level EBP training.
Highlights
Health educators need rigorously developed instruments to evaluate cognitive skills relating to evidence based practice (EBP)
Previous authors have suggested that this five step model should form the basis for health professionals’ clinical decision making and practice but for curricular content underpinning EBP training of health professionals [7]
The fifth step encourages individuals to reflect upon the process undertaken in the first four steps. This final step may provide an opportunity for EBP training providers to undertake formal evaluation procedures to assess the effectiveness of EBP training
Summary
Health educators need rigorously developed instruments to evaluate cognitive skills relating to evidence based practice (EBP). The aim of this study was to develop and validate an EBP evaluation instrument to assess EBP cognitive skills for entry-level health professional disciplines. The EBP movement has expanded to include the educational processes (content, delivery and assessment) involved in entry-level training of health professionals [4]. The fifth step encourages individuals to reflect upon the process undertaken in the first four steps This final step may provide an opportunity for EBP training providers to undertake formal evaluation procedures to assess the effectiveness of EBP training. The recommendations provided in the Sicily Statement highlight a need for future educational research evaluating EBP training, and the development and application of evaluation instruments to assess EBP training for each of the five steps [7]
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