Research Guides: Occupational Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences: Evidence Summaries &amp; Clinical Guidelines

Evidence Syntheses & Summaries

Evidence summaries and syntheses are the results of the aggregation and appraisal of the best available evidence on a given clinical questions, often with the aim of making recommendations for clinical practice.

Joanna Briggs Institute EBP Database This link opens in a new window
JBI EBP database gives comprehensive coverage of a wide range of medical, nursing, and health science specialties and includes a unique suite of information that’s been analyzed, appraised, and prepared by expert reviewers at JBI so you can integrate the world’s best evidence into your practice.
BMJ Best Practice This link opens in a new window
BMJ Best Practice is a new concept for information delivered at the point of care. In a single source there is a combination of the latest research evidence, guidelines and expert opinion – presented in a step-by-step approach, covering prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Best Practice provides a second opinion without the need for checking multiple resources. Its patient-focused approach represents an advancement in information delivery at the point of care.
Trip Database This link opens in a new window
TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) brings together the key evidence-based healthcare resources available on the Internet. Eight major categories are searched by the TRIP search engine: Evidence based guidelines, general peer-reviewed journals, query-answering services, specialist peer-reviewed journals, e-textbooks, medical images and patient information leaflets. The Evidence-based category covers 32 major resources including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Clinical Evidence, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness.
Cochrane Library (includes: CDSR, DARE, CCTR, HTA, NHSEED, CRG's) This link opens in a new window
For evidence summaries and syntheses, see "Cochrane Reviews" and "Clinical Answers".
OTseeker (Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence) This link opens in a new window
Limit to Method>"Systematic Review"

Clinical Guidelines

Clinical guidelines and other guidance regarding best practices are a source of evaluated, synthesized evidence.

Repositories & Websites

National Guideline Clearinghouse
Temporarily unavailable from 7/16/18, due to lack of government funding. Alternative sources of guidelines: AHRQ Clinical Guidelines and Recommendations
HSTAT U.S. Health Services Technology Assessment Text
A free, web-based resource that provides access to full-text documents useful for providing health information and for health care decision-making. Provides access to a wide variety of publications, including: clinical practice guidelines, quick-reference guides for clinicians, consumer health brochures, evidence reports and technology assessments from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference Reports and Technology Assessment Reports; the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) resource documents; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (SA
Guideline Central
Guideline Central provides healthcare professionals with evidence-based clinical decision-support tools. is currently working with a handful of other organizations to establish a new non-profit initiative which will aim to fill the gap left by the sudden closure of AHRQ’s National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC).
AHRQ - Guidelines & Measures Microsite
This AHRQ microsite was set up by AHRQ to provide users a place to find information about its legacy guidelines and measures clearinghouses, National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) and National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NQMC). This information was previously available on guideline.gov and qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov, respectively. Both sites were taken down on July 16, 2018, because federal funding though AHRQ was no longer available to support them.
ECRI Guidelines Trust
ECRI Guidelines Trust is a publicly available online repository of objective, evidence-based clinical practice guideline content. Register for a free account to access.
Guidelines International Network (GIN) Library
The GIN international guideline library and registry of guidelines in development, powered by EBSCO, contains guidelines from across the globe in many languages, both published and in development.
Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Search for "treatment guidelines" + a condition of interest.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The NIH is composed of 27 Institutes and Centers. To search for practice guidelines within NIH's Institutes:
1. Select the Institute that pertains to your topic, e.g., select National Cancer Institute.
2. Use the search feature on the individual institutes, using search terms like "clinical practice guidelines," "practice guidelines," or "guidelines."
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) - United Kingdom
NICE Guidance contains NICE guidance
evidence-based recommendations developed by independent committees, including professionals and lay members, and consulted on by stakeholders.

Databases & Meta-Search Tools

NYU Libraries Catalog
Search NYU Libraries' catalog for "Practice Guidelines". Consider limiting by Publication Date to view recent guidelines.
AccessMedicine
Limit to Quick Reference>Guidelines.
AccessPediatrics
Limit to Quick Reference>Guidelines.
PubMed
Filter for Article Type>"Guidelines" or "Practice Guidelines"
CINAHL
Filter for Publication Type>"Practice Guidelines"
Nursing Reference Center Plus
Filter for Material Type>"Guidelines"
PsycINFO via PsycNET
Use Index Term "Treatment Guidelines" or search for the keyword phrase "Practice Guideline"
Trip Database
Filter for Evidence Type>"Guidelines"
REHAB+
Under Advanced search, filter for Article type> Evidence-based guidelines

Requires a free account to search.
More information less...
A searchable database and email alerting system of best evidence from the health care literature of particular interest to rehabilitation professionals.

The database is comprised of records for original research studies, systematic reviews and evidence-based guidelines.

Articles are identified for inclusion in the database based on systematic search of over 110 journals (including all Cochrane reviews relevant to rehabilitation) with selection of articles by expert research staff concerning the cause, course, diagnosis, prediction, prevention, and treatment of rehabilitation problems, quality improvement and health economics.

Eligible article are rated for clinical relevance and newsworthiness.

Includes original studies, systematic reviews and evidence-based guidelines.