Part 1.
Define: Clearly define the question or problem.

How do I frame the question?

(Estimated time: 0.5 hours)

The first stage of the process of evidence-informed public health is to frame the question. Using the scenario about the limited use of bike helmets, you decide you need some more information.

1. You search Google Scholar using the term helmets and get about 148,000 hits. Not a chance you are going there.
2. You search an online database (PubMed) using the term helmets, resulting in 2,671 hits. Still no way you can get through all those.

   This is the stage where most people give up and decide to use whatever studies they have in their personal files.

There are many types of practice, research and policy questions (e.g., incidence/prevalence; burden of suffering and quality of life; experience and meaning of health and illness; causation; harm; assessment (or diagnosis); prognosis; costs). But most of the time, most of us are concerned with effectiveness of therapy or public health interventions.

Next