On the need to teach evidence-based preventive medicine to health professionals

In the last decade evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become popular between clinicians and epidemiologists as a tool to facilitate the translation of scientific research into clinical practice. In public health, this approach is important for health protection, different levels of disease prevention, and health promotion practice. EBM concept applicable to public health follows the same principles, but some additional aspects have to be considered. For example, in preventive medicine, there is the strong need to compare the relative effectiveness of various interventions in prolonging survival or preventing the occurrence or complications of a disease, as it is crucial for setting preventive priorities. Usually, systematic reviews and meta-analyses quantify the effects of treatments on selected endpoints (health outcomes). However, in setting preventive priorities the reverse perspective is important. The judgement about preventive action cannot be done without an adequate consideration of ethical and social context. In view of emerging evidence-based medicine to health professionals became of paramount importance. In the paper, this course of action has been discussed as an aftermath of the EB training workshop organized in Pavia (Italy) by the International Center for Studies and Research in Biomedicine.