Using Quantitative Research for Evidence Based Practice

Read the following Case Scenario:

“Emma is a 49 year old married mother of two children. She worked full time and as part of her job she drove extensively all over the state. On average she would drive 1,500 miles a week in her company car. In June of last year she had a road traffic accident. Since the accident, she is too afraid to drive, is very anxious, has frequent nightmares when she travelled as a passenger and is on sick leave from her employer. After 6 months she sought help. You are wondering which intervention: CBT paired with EMDR or just CBT will manage to get rid of the nightmares, reduce her anxiety as a passenger and tackle her avoidance of driving.”

Think about this scenario and about what questions arise from it.

A Well-built question should have 4 components:

1. Client or Problem or Population (Description of the patient or the target disorder of interest)

2. Intervention (Exposure, Diagnostic test, Therapy, Patient perception etc.)

3. Comparison Intervention (Relevant most often when looking at therapy questions)

4. Outcome (Clinical outcome of interest to you and your patient)

The scenario above would consist of the following 4 components:

The Question you would formulate from this scenario would be as follows:

In clients with PTSD from car accidents, does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) paired with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMRD) therapy reduce anxiety as a passenger and tackle avoidance of driving when compared with only Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)?

Other Examples of 4 components of Good Effectiveness Questions: