Evidence Based Practice was first defined by Dr David Sackett in the 1990s, but a more recent definition has it as

“integrating the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and the patient’s unique values and circumstances” (Straus, Glasziou, Richardson, & Haynes, 2011).

And "it also requires the health professional to take into account characteristics of the practice context in which they work" (Hoffman, Bennett, & Mar, 2016, p. 4).

• The best research evidence is usually from relevant research that has been carried out using sound methodology.
• Clinical expertise is a combination of the clinician’s experience, education and clinical skills.
• The patient has his/her own personal preferences, concerns, expectations, and values.
• The practice context includes characteristics of the situation in which the interaction between patient and health professional is taking place - for example, the resources available.

Straus, S. E., Glasziou, P., Richardson, W. S., & Haynes, R. B. (2011). Evidence-based medicine: How to practice and teach it (4th ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier.

Hoffmann, T., Bennett, S., & Mar, C. D. (2016). Evidence-based practice across the health professions (3rd ed.). Chatswood, Australia: Elsevier Australia.

There are various ways of listing the steps in the Evidence-Based Practice process, but a common way has 5 main steps:

• EBP

Evidence Based Practice guide created by CSU Library

Tutorials

• What is Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)?

From a tutorial compiled by the Duke University Medical Center Library and the Health Sciences Library at the University of Carolina at Chapel Hill.