Strategies for implementing evidence-based practice in early intervention

All health care practitioners are being urged to develop evidence-based practices. In an evidence-based early intervention practice, research findings are integrated with clinical knowledge and expertise to make decisions that provide the best services for children and their families. There are many challenges to developing an evidence-based practice. This article focuses on specific strategies that can be used to evolve an evidence-based practice. The article describes methods to gather information from the research literature and other sources, to review research studies critically, and to summarize research information for practice using a model to support evidence-based practice. An example of the application of these strategies to early intervention is included.