What are Evidence Maps?

Evidence maps are intended to provide clinicians, researchers, clients, and caregivers with tools and guidance to engage in evidence-based decision-making. The topic-specific evidence maps were introduced by ASHA’s National Center for Evidence-Based Practice in Communication Disorders (N-CEP) in 2010 and are regularly updated to ensure that information is current. New maps are constantly being developed and will be published as they are completed. These maps highlight the importance of the three components of evidence-based practice (EBP):

Clinical Expertise/Expert Opinion
External Scientific Evidence
Client/Patient/Caregiver Perspectives

Each evidence map pertains to a specific clinical population and contains information on assessment/diagnosis, treatment, and service delivery.

Within each category, additional levels of detail are broken down to provide the user with the most specific evidence possible.

The evidence included in each topic box fits into one of the three areas of the “EBP triangle”.

The External Scientific Evidence section contains:

Evidence-based practice guidelines (Includes guidelines Recommended [with provisos] by AGREE criteria. To be evidence-based, guidelines must have a 60% or higher rating for methodological quality by AGREE criteria.)
Evidence-based systematic reviews (Includes reviews or meta-analyses based on a systematic literature search)

The Clinical Expertise/Expert Opinion section contains:

Expert consensus guidelines
ASHA Practice Policy documents

The Client/Patient/Caregiver Perspectives section contains:

Studies addressing patient or family satisfaction, multicultural issues, and/or quality of life

» Find out how the evidence maps can be used