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Highlights from the 2000 Progress Report

At the Centres for Health Evidence (CHE), we package, disseminate, and present health knowledge to facilitate its optimum use.

We monitor knowledge-based software and literature from various public and private sources. When significant resources emerge, we develop structured abstracts to identify the quality of health evidence, the relative importance of recommendations, and how the needs of specific patients, practitioners and settings are addressed.

We promote evidence-based health practices by presenting the resources and summaries to health professionals via Internet-based technologies.

We train health professionals to help them understand and use evidence-based health principles and supporting technologies.

By the end of 2000, the objectives of our Demonstration Project were fulfilled and the CHE transitioned from infrastructure funding to project-based funding.

Guided by our advisory board, we developed a business plan, our vision, and declared a unique niche for our future development.

Areas of Development

Infostructure (technical, content and expertise service capacity)

• Recruited and trained new staff.
• Built core CHE information resources.
• Initiated EBP Fellows program.
• Doubled our Internet capacity.
• Developed content in the fields of evidence-based informatics and applying evidence to practice.
• Became the authorized website for the Users' Guides to Evidence-Based Practice. An interactive edition of the Users' Guides is also being developed.

Instruction (educational initiatives and services)

One of our main focuses at the CHE is innovation in education of evidence-based practice.

• Offered an introductory Masters-level course about evidence-based informatics: "Introduction to Health Evidence and Its Uses."
• Developed and evaluated an online database of "teaching scripts" in evidence-based practice, to capture proven teaching methods for overcoming conceptual barriers.
• Established a partnership with two Chinese Universities to develop workshops to train the teachers of evidence-based practice in a problem-based curriculum.
• Collaborated with others to deliver the curriculum for a two-year program aimed at increasing capacity for evidence-based decision making in regional health authorities over the Internet. Throughout this program we deploy CHE knowledge resources and help to build a "virtual learning community."

Investigation (research projects and collaboration)

We support research in evidence-based health informatics. CHE technologies and expertise helped us succeed in a number of joint grant applications including:

• Determining if online interactive care pathways can improve patient health outcomes.
• Developing a patient-centred preventive care intervention for emergency care facilities in Edmonton.

Finally, other measures of progress include research funding secured through peer-reviewed grant programs, invited presentations, publications, and new strategic partnerships.

As we move into 2001/2002, we are confident that we will continue to grow to meet the needs of practitioners.