Ethiopia Rift Vall

1. EVIDENCE BASED PUBLIC
HEALTH
By: ABINET G.(BSC-PHO, MPH-N)
Contact: 0921250602

2. What is evidence?
Evidence involves “the available body of facts or
information indicating whether a belief or proposition
is true or valid.” • Three types of scientific evidence
– Type I – Descriptive/epidemiologic
– Type II – Intervention
– Type III – Implementation

3. Evidence-based Public Health
The development, implementation and evaluation of
effective programs and policies in public health
through application of principles of scientific
reasoning.

4. Evidence-Based + Public Health
“the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current
best evidence in making decisions about
- the care of communities and populations in the domain
of health protection, disease prevention, health
maintenance and improvement.”

5. What is evidence-based public health?
–“The process of integrating science-based interventions
with community preferences to improve the health of
populations.”
(Kohatsu ND, Robinson JG, Torner JC. Evidence-based public health: An evolving concept. Am J Prev Med.
2004 Dec;27(5):417-21.)

6. Key elements of EBPH
• Making decisions using the best available evidence (both quantitative and
qualitative research),
• Using data and information systems systematically,
• Applying program-planning frameworks (that often have a foundation in
behavioral science theory),
• Engaging the community in assessment and decision making, • Conducting
sound evaluation, and
• Disseminating what is learned to key stakeholders and decision makers.

7. EBPH
The intersection between
community needs and values
Scientific evidence
Resources

8. Why EBPH?
• Despite the many achievements of public health to date, many
additional challenges still remain.
• To meet expectations for continuous improvement: for instance to
achieve the SDGs a drive towards more widespread use of evidence-
based strategies for effectively addressing current challenges in
public health is needed.
• Need credible filtered information to make informed decisions.
Research evidence is valued. • So much information, too little time!

9. Evidence for Public Health Practice and Policy Decisions
Politicians need evidence to make decisions about public
health programs.

10. Evidence-Based Public Health Process
1. Develop an initial statement of the issue,
2. Quantify the issue,
3. Search the scientific literature and organize policy
information,
4. Develop and prioritize program options,
5. Develop an action plan and implement interventions
6. Evaluate the program or policy

11. Cont…
Define the public health problem
Convert the information needs into focused questions
Forming a Searchable Public Health Question PICO
P – Population
I - Intervention
C - Comparison
O - Outcome

12. Sources of Public Health Evidence
• Journal literature
• Books
• Conference proceedings
& abstracts
• theses
• Unpublished scientific
papers
• Government reports
• Policy statements, laws
& regulations
• Surveillance data
• Newsletters
• Teleconferences &
webcasts
• Alert systems
• Listservs
• Internet sources
• Expert knowledge &
opinion

13. Critically appraise the evidence for validity and relevance
1.Evidence-Based Guidelines
2. Systematic Reviews
3. Pre-formulated Searches
4. Best and Model Practices
5. Bibliographic Databases
6. Public Health Journals
7. Health Data and Statistics
8. Legislation and Policy
9. Government Reports

14. EBM Vs EBPH
EBM and EBPH – similar steps
• State the scientific question of interest
• Determine what information is needed to answer the scientific
question
• Identify the relevant evidence
• Determine the best course of action considering the patient or
population
• Evaluate process and outcome

15. Thank You!!!