Practice-Based Evidence in Community Guide Systematic Reviews.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Health Policy

Background:

• The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide) is a vital resource for public health decision-making.
• Assessing the balance and quality of different evidence types is essential for effective evidence-based practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the proportion and quality of practice-based evidence (PBE) versus research-based evidence (RBE) within The Community Guide.
• To understand how PBE and RBE contributions vary across different review topics.

Main Methods:

• Developed clear definitions distinguishing PBE (non-researcher-controlled allocation) from RBE (researcher-controlled allocation).
• Analyzed 3,656 studies across 202 reviews published in The Community Guide since its inception.
• Categorized studies along a continuum from PBE to RBE based on defined criteria.

Main Results:

• Practice-based evidence (PBE) constituted 54% of studies, while research-based evidence (RBE) comprised 46%.
• Community-based and policy reviews predominantly featured PBE, whereas health care system and programmatic reviews leaned towards RBE.
• Most PBE and RBE studies met high-quality standards according to The Community Guide's evaluation methods.

Conclusions:

• The significant inclusion of PBE indicates that rigorous evidence relevant to practice is being generated.
• This integration of PBE enhances stakeholder confidence in the real-world applicability of The Community Guide's recommendations.
• Identified limitations in some PBE studies highlight the need for improved practice-relevant study designs and reporting of external validity.