HLTH 1012 Evidence in Health

Credit Points 10

Legacy Code 401383

Coordinator Ghufran Alhassani Opens in new window

Description This subject will introduce skills for finding and using the best available evidence in health. This begins with understanding thinking systems, biases and why we often don't accept, or respond, to facts, science and evidence. Students will learn the evidence-based practice process to formulate questions and find appropriate and relevant evidence from the unending amount of information available. The subject covers key concepts in how to read and understand a research paper. Students will develop skills for communicating evidence to strengthen arguments in academic writing and professional practice.

School Health Sciences

Discipline Health, Not Elsewhere Classified.

Student Contribution Band HECS Band 2 10cp

Check your fees via the Fees page.

Level Undergraduate Level 1 subject

Equivalent Subjects HLTH 1001 - Foundations of Research and Evidence-Based Practice HLTH 1002 - Foundations of Research and Evidence-Based Practice (UWSC)

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this subject, students should be able to:

Recognise personal thinking styles and associated biases;
Describe the reasons for the 5 steps of evidence-based practice;
Design a sensitive and specific PICO search strategy to find best available evidence;
Identify type, level and key research concepts in journal articles;
Integrate strength and relevance of evidence findings into academic writing.

Subject Content

1. Critical thinking

Introduction to epistemology
System 1 and 2 thinking
Heuristics, biases and certainty
“Why we don’t believe the facts”
Ethics and evidence
Reflective practice

2. Evidence-based Practice (EBP) Process

5-step EBP process
Step 1 Formulating questions
Step 2 Sources of evidence

* Search strategies

* Information literacy

* Reader bias

3. How to read a paper

Article sections
Types of research
Levels of evidence
Key research concepts (e.g. measurement, reliability, validity, causality, probability)

4. Communicating evidence

Integrating evidence in writing
Evidence justification
Evidence summaries

Assessment

The following table summarises the standard assessment tasks for this subject. Please note this is a guide only. Assessment tasks are regularly updated, where there is a difference your Learning Guide takes precedence.

Type	Length	Percent	Threshold	Individual/Group Task	Mandatory
Quiz	1 hour	10	N	Individual	N
Report	No word limit for PICO table/Search strategy/ Selection criteria table. Selection justification = 100 words.	25	N	Individual	N
Summary	800 words	30	N	Individual	N
Final Exam	2 hours	35	N	Individual	N

Prescribed Texts

Greenhalgh, T., Bidewell, J., Crisp, E., Lambros, A. & Warland, J. (2017): Understanding research methods for evidence-based practice (2nd ed.). Milton, Australia: Wiley.

Teaching Periods