Evidence-based Practice Center Program: Applying Evidence into Practice

The Evidence-based Practice Center Program at the Department of Health and Human Services strives to improve the health of the United States population. To do so, the Center systematically reviews evidence and produces evidence-based reports that discuss benefits and harms of treatments and/or preventative services. These reports can be used as a trusted resource for clinical decision-making in practice. At the conclusion of this educational presentation, the attendee will be able to describe how the EPC Program produces evidence reviews to achieve the goal of helping consumers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers make informed and evidence-based healthcare decisions. The attendee will understand what goes into creating a high-quality systematic review. 1 Topics covered in this portion of the presentation will include use of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) 2, risk of bias 3, and strength of evidence. The attendee will be able to list recent reports relevant to the target audience such as Nonpharmacological Treatments for Mental Health Conditions 4 and Fall Prevention. 5 As a group we will discuss strategies for implementation of the content of these evidence-based publications into clinical practice.

Learning Objectives:

Objective 1: Describe how EPC Program evidence reviews contribute to achieving the goal of helping consumers, healthcare professionals, and policymakers make informed and evidence-based healthcare decisions.

Objective 2: Comprehend the content of a quality systematic review (e.g., Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA), risk of bias, and strength of evidence).

Objective 3: List relevant EPC Program evidence-based publications.

Objective 4: Formulate strategies for implementation of EPC Program evidence-based publication findings into clinical practice.

Hourly Breakdown:

Presenter introduction 2 minutes

Introduction to the EPC Program 10 minutes

Understanding systematic reviews 20 minutes

Examples of reports 8 minutes

Translating the evidence into practice 8 minutes

Conclusion 2 minutes

Questions 10 minutes

This course is presented as part of the ACA Engage 2026 educational programming.

This course is worth 1 CE credit in ACA-approved and PACE-accepted states. CEUs have been applied for in California, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.

View a list of accepted and approved states.

PACE ID: IP123262

Cynthia Chapman, DC, MPH

Cindy Chapman, DC, MPH, is an ORISE research and evaluation fellow with the Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Division of the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement (CEPI) at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). In this capacity, she works to support and analyze the effectiveness and impact of the EPC program and other AHRQ programs. She is also an adjunct associate professor at Northeastern College of Health Sciences.

At ACA, Dr. Chapman serves on the Public Health Advisory Board and as vice chair of the Code Utilization and Application Subcommittee, which is part of the Health Policy and Advocacy Committee. In 2024, she was selected to be an ACA Health Policy Fellow.

Before joining AHRQ, Dr. Chapman was a practicing clinician for over 20 years with additional training in acupuncture and chiropractic for pregnant people. She has served as a peer reviewer for many conferences and journals and is a frequent conference presenter. She has held leadership roles in state and national professional associations, including the American Public Health Association and the Unified Virginia Chiropractic Association. She completed a practicum at the RAND Research Across Complementary and Integrative Health Institutions (REACH) Center, and in 2023 was selected as a participant in the MAR-PHTC Public Health Leadership Institute.