ATC Evidence-Based Practice 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In evidence-based practice, what does the acronym PICO stand for?
- Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome (Correct answer)
- Problem, Identification, Criteria, Observation
- Protocol, Intervention, Control, Objective
- Patient, Index, Condition, Outcome
Correct answer: Patient/Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome
PICO is a framework used to formulate clinical questions for literature searches in EBP.
Question 2: Which study design provides the highest level of evidence for treatment effectiveness?
- Case report
- Cohort study
- Randomized controlled trial (Correct answer)
- Cross-sectional study
Correct answer: Randomized controlled trial
Randomized controlled trials minimize bias through random assignment and are considered the gold standard for evaluating treatment effectiveness.
Question 3: A systematic review differs from a narrative review primarily because it:
- Includes only expert opinion
- Uses explicit, reproducible methods to identify and synthesize literature (Correct answer)
- Is written by a single author
- Focuses on a single case study
Correct answer: Uses explicit, reproducible methods to identify and synthesize literature
Systematic reviews use transparent, reproducible search and appraisal methods to minimize bias in synthesizing evidence.
Question 4: An athletic trainer reads a study reporting a p-value of 0.03. What does this indicate?
- The treatment has a 3% success rate
- There is a 3% probability the result occurred by chance (Correct answer)
- The effect size is clinically significant
- The study had a 3% dropout rate
Correct answer: There is a 3% probability the result occurred by chance
A p-value of 0.03 means there is a 3% probability the observed result occurred by chance if the null hypothesis were true.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes clinical expertise in the EBP triad?
- Results from the most recent RCT
- The clinician's accumulated knowledge and judgment from practice (Correct answer)
- Patient preference surveys
- National consensus guidelines
Correct answer: The clinician's accumulated knowledge and judgment from practice
Clinical expertise refers to the clinician's proficiency gained through education, training, and experience in patient care.
Question 6: What is a meta-analysis in the context of evidence-based practice?
- A single large RCT with multiple outcomes
- A qualitative summary of clinical opinions
- A statistical technique that pools data from multiple studies (Correct answer)
- A case series with blinded assessment
Correct answer: A statistical technique that pools data from multiple studies
Meta-analysis statistically combines quantitative results from multiple studies to increase statistical power and precision of effect estimates.
Question 7: When appraising a diagnostic test study, which statistic indicates the probability that a positive test result truly indicates disease?
- Sensitivity
- Specificity
- Positive predictive value (Correct answer)
- Negative predictive value
Correct answer: Positive predictive value
Positive predictive value (PPV) is the proportion of positive test results that are true positives, indicating disease presence.
ATC Evidence-Based Practice 2
In evidence-based practice, what does the acronym PICO stand for?