Evidence based practice updates - 18 April 2013

New guidelines, research and other tools and updates on evidence based techniques and processes from across the UK. For more information about this theme see Quality and Safety eBulletin: evidence based practice.

Some of the resources linked to are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.

BMJ Open Access: ExPeKT—Exploring prevention and knowledge of venous thromboembolism: a two-stage, mixed-method study protocol. The authors of this study protocol plan to use a two-stage, mixed-method approach to examine the perceived role of primary care in thromboprophylaxis prevention and management and gain an awareness of the knowledge of thromboprophylaxis among primary healthcare professionals, patients, acute trusts and other relevant organisations.

BMJ: NICE’s end of life decision making scheme: impact on population health. A discussion of the impact of 2009 changes to the NHS’s cost effectiveness threshold for end of life drugs, looking at funding and budget decisions across the whole NHS and the value of QALYs (quality adjusted life years) obtained at the end of life.

NHS Evidence - Evidence updates: Three new updates have been published:

• Multiple pregnancy: A summary of selected new evidence relevant to NICE clinical guideline 129 ‘The management of twin and triplet pregnancies in the antenatal period’ (2011).
• Self-harm longer term management: A summary of selected new evidence relevant to NICE clinical guideline 133 ‘Self-harm: longer term management’ (2011).
• School based interventions to prevent the update of smoking among children and young: A summary of selected new evidence relevant to NICE public health guidance 23 ‘School-based interventions to prevent the uptake of smoking among children and young people’ (2010).

NHS Eyes on Evidence: Eyes on Evidence, April 2013. This issue includes information on: changes at NICE; infectious diseases among homeless populations; risk of abuse in disabled children and evidence updates on diabetic foot problems; hip fracture; caesarean section; and anaphylaxis.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence: On April 1, NICE’s name changed to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to reflect its new role in social care. This includes the establishment of the NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care which is a consortium led by and located at SCIE. The Collaborating Centre will use NICE methods to develop NICE social care guidance, which in turn will be used to develop quality standards. Quality standards are concise statements designed to drive and measure improvements in care. The Collaborating Centre will also support dissemination and adoption of guidance and quality standards.

NICE: Clinical Knowledge Service launched. A new Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) service provided by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is now live. The NICE CKS service provides primary care practitioners with a readily accessible summary of the current evidence base and practical guidance on best practice in respect of over 300 common and/or significant primary care presentations. The CKS service will provide regular updates to all topics and up to 10 new primary care topics each year. CKS content is also searchable through NICE Evidence Search where a wide range of additional information resources may be found.  There are approximately twenty summaries in the area of mental health including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

NICE quality standard: Health and wellbeing of looked-after children and young people
Quality Standards (QS31). This new quality standard for social care defines best practice for the health and wellbeing of looked-after children and young people. It covers the health and wellbeing of looked-after children and young people from birth to 18 years and care leavers (including young people planning to leave care or under leaving care provisions). It applies to all settings and services working with and caring for looked-after children and young people, and care leavers, including where they live.

NICE: Citizens Council meeting report: what aspects of benefit, cost and need should NICE take into account when developing social care guidance? This report outlines discussions from the January 2013 Citizens Council meeting, which discussed the question what aspects of 'benefit', 'cost' and 'need' NICE should take account of when developing social care guidance. Public comments on the report are now invited until the 19 April 2013.

RCN: RCN 2013 Annual International Nursing Research Conference. See the presentations from the RCN 2013 Research Society annual international conference. More than 300 delegates from more than 20 countries attended the conference in March 2013. You can view online or download many of the presentations given by speakers for the concurrent sessions, symposia, workshops, keynotes and master classes as well as the posters on the website.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN): Mood disorders during pregnancy and after the birth of your baby. SIGN publishes patient booklets in Chinese, Polish and Urdu translations.