About the Centre

The New South Wales Centre for Evidence Based Health Care (NSWCEBHC) was established in 2001. The NSW Centre is based at the South Western Sydney Centre for Applied Nursing Research (CANR), which is a collaborative research centre of the University of Western Sydney and the South Western Sydney Area Health Service, located at Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia.

The NSWCEBHC has a strong research program, including conducting systematic reviews (SR) and implementing research evidence. Each research project includes clinicians as members of the team, and a feature of the Centre is the secondment of clinicians to work with the core team to complete research.

The NSWCEBHC conducts workshops and seminars on topics relevant to evidence based practice for health professionals. For further information see below.

Systematic Reviews

Publications

2009 Publications

1. Fernandez R, Tran D. The meta-analysis graph- Clearing the haze. Clinical Nurse Specialist 2009; 23(2) 57-60.

2. Fernandez R, Davidson P, Griffiths R, Juergens C, Salamonson Y. Development of a health related lifestyle self management (HeLM) intervention for patients with coronary heart disease (2009) Heart and Lung 38(6) 491-498.

3. Griffiths R, Horsfall J, Moore M, Lane D, Kroon V, Landgon R. (2009) Building Social Capital with Women in a Socially Disadvantaged Community. International Journal of Nursing Practice. Vol 15 pp 172-184.

4. Fernandez R, Tran D. The meta-analysis graph- Clearing the haze. Clinical Nurse Specialist 2009; Mar-Apr;23(2):57-60.

5. Fernandez R, Davidson P, Griffiths R, Juergens C, Stafford B, Salamonson Y. A pilot randomised controlled trial comparing a health-related lifestyle self-management intervention with standard cardiac rehabilitation following an acute cardiac event: Implications for a larger clinical trial. Australian Critical Care 2009: Feb;22(1):17-27.

6. Fernandez, R., Shamim, S., Davidson, P., Salamonson, Y., & Andrews, K. (2009). Interventions for maintaining long term physical activity among individuals with coronary heart disease. Heart Lung and Circulation, 18(Supplement 3), S260.

7. Neubeck L Redfern J, Fernandez R, Briffa T, Bauman A, Friedman, B .Telehealth interventions for patients with coronary heart disease European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention. (2009) Volume 16, Issue 3, Pages 281-289.

8. Rolley J, Davidson P, Salamonson Y, Fernandez R, Dennison C. Nursing care for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: a patient journey approach. Journal of Clinical Nursing 2009; Volume 18, Number 17, , pp. 2394-2405.

9. Tran, D. T., Stone, A. M., Fernandez, R. S., Griffiths, R. D., & Johnson, M. (2009). Does implementation of clinical practice guidelines change nurses' screening for alcohol and other substance use? Contemporary Nurse, 33(1), 13-19.

10. Tran D, Fernandez RS, Stone A, Griffiths R, Johnson M. Changes in general nurses’ knowledge of alcohol and substance use and misuse after education. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care Volume 45, Number 2, April 2009 , pp. 128-139(12).

11. Chau J, Thompson DR, Fernandez R , Griffiths R, Lo H (2009)Methods for Determining the Correct Nasogastric Tube Placement after Insertion: A Meta-Analysis JBI Library of Systematic reviews 7(16):679-760.

12. Rajan, P., & Fernandez, R. (2009). Social marketing of cardiac rehabilitation in patients following coronary intervention procedures. Heart Lung and Circulation, 18(Supplement 3), S262.

13. Blythe S, Chang E, Johnson A, Griffiths R. (2009) The efficacy of nurse implemented non-pharmacological strategies for the symptom management of agitation in persons with advanced dementia living in residential aged care facilities. (Joanna Briggs Institute in press).

14. Middleton S. Levi C, Ward J, Grimshaw J, Griffiths R, D’Este C. (2009) Fever, hyperglycaemia and swallowing dysfunction management in acute stroke.  A cluster randomised controlled trial of knowledge transfer. Implementation Science. http://www.implementationscience.com/content/4/1/16   (Impact factor 4.43).

2008 Publications

1. Halcomb E, Fernandez R, Griffiths R, Newton R, Hickman L. (2008). The infection control management of MRSA in acute care.  International Journal Evidence Based Healthcare. 6: pp 440-467.

2. Fernandez R S, Griffiths R D  (2008) Duration of short-term indwelling catheters: a systematic review of the evidence. Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE).

3. http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/CRDWeb/ShowRecord.asp?ID=12006005228 (2).

4. Fernandez  R S, Davidson P, Griffiths R, (2008) Cardiac Rehabilitation Coordinators’ Perceptions of Patient-elated Barriers to Implementing Cardiac Evidence-Based Guidelines. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing. 23:5 449-457 (1).

5. Middleton S, Griffiths R, Fernandez R, Smith B. (2008) Nursing practice environment: How does one Australian Hospital compare with magnet hospitals? International Journal of Nursing Practice. 14: 366-372 (1).

6. Griffiths R, Daly J. (2008) Towards culturally competent nurse workforce.  Editorial Contemporary Nurse. 28: pp98-100  (2).

7. Griffiths R, (2008) Evidence Based Practice: We have just begun…  Australian Diabetes Educator. 11(2) pp16-22  (2).

8. Griffiths R. (2008) University/Health collaborations to promote research and evidence based practice in clinical environments. Perspectives in Nursing Science.  The Research Institute of Nursing Science Seoul National University.  pp 19-26 (2).

9. Halcomb E, Griffiths R, Fernandez R. (2008) The role of patient isolation and compliance with isolation practices in the control of nosocomial MRSA in acute care. International Journal of Evidence Based Health. 6:2 pp 206-224 (1).

10. Fernandez R,  Salamonson Y, Griffiths R, Juergens C,  Davidson T, (2008)   Socio demographic predictors and reasons for participation in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program following percutaneous coronary intervention. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 14; pp237-242 (1).

11. Fernandez R, Griffiths R. (2008) Water for wound cleansing. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2008, Issue 4. Art. No.: CD003861. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD003861.pub2 (1).

12. Halcomb E, Griffiths R, Fernandez R (2008) Identification of MRSA Reservoirs in the Acute Care Setting: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Evidence Based Health  6(1) pp 50-77 (1).

13. Halcomb E, Davidson P, Salamonson Y, Ollerton R, Griffiths R. (2008) Nurses in Australian general practice: implications for chronic disease management. International Journal of Nursing Practice 17(777) p 6-15  (1).

2007 Publications

1. Halcomb E, Davidson PM, Griffiths R, Daly J (2007), Cardiovascular Disease Management: Time to Advance the General Practice Nurse Role?  Australian Healthcare Review. 32(1) pp 44-55 (1).

2. Fernandez R, Salamonson Y, Juergens C, Griffiths R, Davidson P. (2007) Validation of the Revised Cardiac Rehabilitation Preference Form in Patients with Post-Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention. 27 pp390-394 (1).

3. Middleton S, Levi C, D’Este C, Dale S, Griffiths R, Grimshaw J, Ward J, Evans M, Quinn C, Cadilhas D, (2007). Death, Dependency and Health Status 90 Days Following Stroke in NSW: Interim Results From The Quality In Acute Stroke Care (QASC) Project. Internal Medicine Journal. 37: (suppl. 4), A107. (Impact Factor 1.518) (1).

4. Fernandez R, Griffiths R, Everett R, Davidson P,  Salamonson Y, Andrew S. (2007).

5. Effectiveness of brief structured interventions on risk factor modification for patients with coronary heart disease: a systematic review. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare. 5:4. pp370-405 (1).

6. Fernandez R, Davidson P, Griffiths R, Juergens C, Salamonson Y. (2007) What do we know about the long term medication adherence in patients following percutaneous coronary intervention? Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing 25:2. pp53-61 (1).

7. Griffiths R, Walker C. (2007) Perspectives on quality in nursing. In Chang E, Daly J (eds) Transitions in Nursing 2nd ed. Elsevier Australia. Sydney pp194-212. (2).

8. Fernandez R, Griffiths R. (2007) Portable MP3 players: innovative devices for recording qualitative interviews. Nurse Researcher 15:1pp8-15 (1).

9. Halcomb E, Davidson P, Yallop J, Griffiths R, Daly J. (2007) Strategic directions for developing the Australian general practice nurse role in cardiovascular disease management. Contemporary Nurse. 26:1. pp125-135 (1).

10. Zwar N, Dennis S, Griffiths R, Perkins D, May J, Hasan I, Caplan G, Harris M. (2007) Optimising skill-mix in the primary health care workforce for the care of older Australians: A Systematic Review. Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI). (3).

11. Fernandez RS, Griffiths R, Ussia C. (2007) Water for wound cleansing.  International Journal of Evidence Based Health Care. 5:3 pp305-323. (1).

12. Fernandez R, Davidson P, Salamonson Y, Griffiths, Juergens C. (2007) The Health-Related Quality of Life Trajectory in Patients After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention. 27- pp 223-226 (1).

13. Halcomb E, Moujalli S, Griffiths R, Davidson P. (2007) Effectiveness of general practice nurse interventions in cardiac risk factor reduction amongst adults: A systematic review. International Journal of Evidence Based Health Care 5:3; pp269-295 (1).

14. Griffiths R, Horsfall J, Moore M, Lane D, Kroon V, Landgon R, (2007) Assessment of health, well-being and social connections: A survey of women living in Western Sydney.  International Journal of Nursing Practice. 13:  pp3-13 (1).

15. Parsons M, Bidwell J, Griffiths R. (2007) A comparative study of the effect of food consumption on labour and birth outcomes in Australia.  Midwifery. 32:2 pp 131-138. DOI 10.1016/j.midw.2006.03.007(1).

16. Griffiths R. (2007) Clinical Chairs in Nursing. Leading Opinion.  Collegian, 14:2 pp3-4  (2).

17. Griffiths R, Stone A, Tran D, Fernandez R, Ford K (2007) Drink a little; take a few drugs; Do nurses have knowledge to identify and manage inpatients at risk of drugs and alcohol? Drug and Alcohol Review. 26: pp545-552 (1).

18. Middleton S, Allnutt J, Griffiths R, McMaster R, O’Connell J, Hillege S. (2007) Identifying measures for evaluating new models of nursing care: a survey of NSW Nurse Practitioners. International Journal of Nursing Practice 13. pp331-340 (1).

19. Middleton S, Chapman B, Griffiths R, Chester R. (2007) Reviewing recommendations of root cause analyses. Australian Health Review. 31:2 pp288-295(1).

20. Parsons M, Griffiths R. (2007) The Effect of Professional Socialisation on Midwives’ Practice. Women & Birth. 21:1 pp 31-34(1).

21. Griffiths R, Fernandez R. (2007) Policies for the removal of short-term indwelling urethral catheters.  Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD004011. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004011.pub3.

Training Programs

The New South Wales Centre for Evidence Based Health Care (NSWCEBHC) conducts various training programs to assist clinicians to develop their skills in evidence based practice. The training programs range from brief (half day, one or two days) workshops to comprehensive (five day) workshops. The aim of the workshops is to equip clinicians with the knowledge and skills to identify, appraise and utilise evidence based research as the basis for clinical practice. All workshops involve practical exercises and include facilitators’ notes for future reference.

Topics
Introduction to Evidence Based Practice

The workshop is aimed at clinicians interested in gaining skills in order to generate and integrate evidence in clinical practice and includes the following;

• What is Evidence Based Practice?
  Introduces participants to the principals of Evidence Based Practice. The origin and context of EBP is explored and sources of evidence explored.  There is also an introduction to the Joanna Briggs Institute and the Cochrane Collaboration.


• Introduction to Systematic Reviews
  Provides a brief introduction to systematic reviews (SR) and the process of undertaking this form of research.


• Structuring Clinical Problems
  Assists participants to develop a structured research question and to seek evidence for a particular clinical problem. The session also includes a practical exercise on formulating a research question based on the model presented.


• What is Evidence?
  Introduces participants to a variety of tools that have been developed to assist clinicians and researchers to rank research reports according to accepted levels of evidence. This session also includes a practical exercise on identifying levels of evidence for research reports.


• Critical Appraisal
  Introduces participants to a variety of tools that have been developed to assist clinicians and researchers to critically appraise research reports using objective criteria. This session includes a practical exercise using the critical appraisal tools.


• Interpretation of Results
  Provides an explanation of the common terms (eg. P value, t-test) often used in the results section of reports. Participants are asked to complete a worksheet and discuss implications of the results in clinical practice


• Development of Summary Tables
  Focuses on techniques to summarise information from research reports into a table that can be easily read and understood as well as available for future reference. A practical exercise on developing a summary table using two journal articles is included.

Evidence Based Guidelines

Development of Guidelines
Includes types of guidelines and the process for the development of guidelines

• Critical Appraisal of Guidelines
  How to critically appraise guidelines and assess application to practice (A practical exercise on critiquing is included).


• Implementation of Evidence Based Guidelines
  Strategies for implementation of guidelines into practice (Practical exercise included).

Introduces participants to the range of available resources for evidence, to develop skills in searching techniques and raising awareness of the problems associated with searching.

• Navigating the Joanna Briggs Database
  Provides practical exercise on the Clinical Information Service database and resources for building evidence base manuals.


• Searching the Cochrane Library
  Includes a 3 hour practical exercise on how to search the Cochrane Library
.

• RAPid (Rapid Assessment Protocol internet database)
  Introduces participants to RAPid which is a tool designed to assist clinicians in conducting critical appraisal of systematic reviews and individual research studies.

This program, consisting of five modules, is designed to prepare clinicians to conduct comprehensive systematic reviews of evidence using the Joanna Briggs Institute SUMARI software.

Professor Rhonda Griffiths
Director, NSWCEBHC
Phone: +61 2 9612-0671