PEDro online resource and basis for teaching evidence based practice
21 April 2009
PEDro is the Physiotherapy Evidence Database. It has been developed to give rapid access to bibliographic details and abstracts of randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines in physiotherapy. Most trials on the database have been rated for quality to help users quickly discriminate between trials which are likely to be valid and interpretable and those which are not. [http://www.pedro.fhs.usyd.edu.au/index.html].
The database is endorsed by the World Confederation for Physical Therapy. PEDro averages over 40,000 hits per week and is used by physiotherapists in over 40 countries.
A Google search using the exact phrase 'Physiotherapy evidence database' on January 20 2005 reveals 5,580 hits. One reason for the popularity of PEDro is that we have taken an international focus: the database archives studies in any language and the PEDro interface is translated into seven languages (Portugese, Spanish, Korean, Arabic, French, Italian and German). As well as being popular PEDro is recognised as an authoritative source of evidence. Libraries of the leading Universities around the world, including Harvard, Oxford and Yale Universities, provide access to the database for their patrons. The Cochrane Collaboration encourages reviewers to use PEDro when preparing systematic reviews The Centre has assisted Occupational Therapists and Psychologists to develop similar databases to PEDro for their own professions (OT Seeker, PsychBite) and is working collaboratively with these groups to develop strategies to foster evidence-based practice. PEDro has changed physiotherapy internationally.
Year Level : (All four years of course)
In this subject students will learn skills required to practice evidence-based physiotherapy. At the completion of this subject you should be able to:
- Ask answerable clinical questions about the effects of therapy, prognosis, and the utility of diagnostic tests in physiotherapy
- Find key studies that answer your questions
- Critically appraise the studies (i.e., determine whether their findings are likely to be valid and what they mean)
- Draw reasonable conclusions about therapeutic effectiveness, the utility of diagnostic tests and prognosis
PEDro permits self-paced learning, integration of the principle of evidence-based practice across the total curriculum and allows students to be life-long learners. Because the database is updated monthly and the information is screened for methodological quality students are provided with the most recent high quality information on practice.
We have surveyed students using the University unit of study evaluation and surveyed graduate physiotherapists at professional conferences.
Students enjoy using PEDro and this is maintained once they graduate.
There have been three major initiatives/changes from the original project.
- The School has assisted Occupational Therapists and Psychologists to develop similar databases to PEDro for their own professions (OT Seeker, PsychBite) and is working collaboratively with these groups to develop strategies to foster evidence-based practice.
- To assist health consumers to be able to access high quality information on physiotherapy treatment effectiveness we are developing a consumer version of PEDro. This will be launched in 2005.
- To make the resource truly international the database now archives studies in any language and the PEDro interface has been translated into seven languages (Portugese, Spanish, Korean, Arabic,French, Italian and German).