The course has two main compoents. The first examines the philosophical debates concerning "Evidenced-based" approaches to health care and clinical management. It looks at different beliefs about the nature of knowledge (positivistic, phenomenological/ social construction and critical) and with thi explores issues about what can be considered "evidence". The difficulties of decision-making in a pluralistic work place and the problems that this poses for defining issues and work processes in clinical settings are also considered.
The second component focuses on the developing of practical skills in incorporating various sources and types of evidence in clinical management. Various types and sources of evidence, such as Cochrane Collaboration, hospital databases as well data resulting from the adoption of process control oriented approaches to clinical service provision, are presented and their relative merits discussed. Statistical methods directly applicable to creating visibilities about clinical process and practice will be presented and assessed. Hands-on practice with databases is included. Students will gain knowledge and experience in searching databases; assessing literature; evaluating statistical methods and results; appraising methods of data generation, collection and evaluation; and developing a strategy for introducing a more evidence-based approach into their daily management of clinical work.