Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is the judicious use of the best research evidence (found in health sciences literature), clinical expertise (what the health care provider knows) and patient values (what the patient wants and believes) to create a plan of action regarding patient care. Evidence-based practice is an umbrella term that covers evidence-based medicine, evidence-based nursing, evidence-based dentistry, evidence-based public health, etc.
Typically, the higher up on the evidence pyramid, the better quality evidence and the fewer studies published.
Note: the evidence pyramid is general guidance-only. Consider your question type to identify publication type level of evidence (below)
Publication types by question type: Different study types are suited to different questions
Source: Glossary of EBM Terms Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) Toronto, Accessing pre-appraised evidence: Fine tuning the 5S Model into a 6S Model