Needs analysis on the development of evidence-based practice in an undergraduate problem-based learning context

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a formal information behavior recently imposed on healthcare providers, which emphasizes the incorporation of the best research evidence into the delivery of patient care. Internationally, policies that require both healthcare practice and the educational environment under which health science students are educated to be evidence based are on the rise. In medical and health sciences curricula, EBP and problem-based learning (PBL) are often seen as synonymous, as traditional medical PBL requires students to seek out research evidence related to posed clinical problems. However, students in an undergraduate radiography program exhibit difficulties in implementing EBP, despite successful completion of a PBL course. This study describes the findings of a needs analysis undertaken to better understand the issues hindering the development of effective evidence-based decision making skills in the PBL context.