Includes bibliographical references and index

Why read papers at all? -- Searching the literature -- Getting your bearings : what is this paper about? -- Assessing methodological quality -- Statistics for the non-statistician -- Papers that report trials of drugs treatment and other simple interventions -- Papers that report trials of complex interventions -- Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests -- Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) -- Papers that tell you what to do (guidelines) -- Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses) -- Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research) -- Papers that report questionnaire research -- Papers that report quality improvement case studies -- Papers that describe genetic association studies -- Applying evidence with patients -- Criticisms of evidence-based healthcare

This book addresses the common criticisms of evidence-based healthcare, dispelling many of its myths and misconceptions, while providing a pragmatic framework for testing the validity of healthcare literature. It also helps readers to understand the central principles of evidence-based medicine, critically evaluate published data, and implement the results in practical settings. The readers are guided through each fundamental step of inquiry, from searching the literature, to assessing methodological quality, and appraising statistics. -- Publisher description