1&2

 Critical appraisal is the process of systematically examining research evidence to judge its trustworthiness, its value and relevance in a particular context. It allows clinicians to use research evidence reliably and efficiently (Burls, 2009). Critical appraisal is intended to enhance the healthcare professional's skill to determine whether the research evidence is true (free of bias) and relevant to their patients.

              My first strategy as the leader will be to choose articles relevant to the field of interest which is in agreement with Taylor et al. (2000) first strategy. That is by ensuring the research article is relevant to their field (Taylor et al., 2000).  

According to Burls (2009), there are three essential questions that need to be asked when appraising an article on therapeutic intervention.

I. Are the results valid? Do the findings of this study represent the truth? That is, do the results provide an unbiased estimate of the treatment effect, or have they been clouded by bias leading to false conclusions?

II. How precise are the results? If the results are unbiased, they need further examination in terms of precision. The precision would be better in larger studies compared with smaller studies.

III. Are the results applicable to my patient? What are the patient populations, disease and treatments (including comparators) under investigation? What are the benefits and risks associated with the treatment? Do the benefits outweigh the harms?

Application of the above mentioned strategies will help us choose the right articles to achieve our evidence based practice (EBP) and research goals.  

 

Reference

Burls A. (2009). What is critical appraisal? Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4263611/

Taylor, R., Reeves, B., Ewings, P., Binns, S., Keast, J., & Mears, R. (2000). A systematic review of the effectiveness of critical appraisal skills training for clinicians. Medical Education, 34(2), 120-125. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2000.00574.x