Practice Reflection

This practice reflection discusses the importance of evidence-based practice in public health and its application in future practice. It covers the understanding of evidence-based public health, the history of evolution of public health, the role of Cochrane in evidence-based medicine, and the hierarchy of research articles. It also explores the application of evidence-based practice in relation to the Public Health Competency Standards in Australia.

Running head: PRACTICE REFLECTION
INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH SCIENCE RESEARCH: REFLECTION
Name of the Student
Name of University
Author’s note

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Introduction
The following paper will cover my personal reflection based on my unit understanding of
History and Principles of Public Health. The reflection will begin by highlighting my previous
understandings and how knowledge gained in this unit helped to improvise my knowledge
further and understanding about public health. This will be followed by the my planning about
future in context of the knowledge gain in the unit content and relating to the Public Health
Competency Standards in Australia.
Consideration of the unit content with the existing knowledge and skills
The unit content mainly highlights over the importance of the evidence based practice in
the public health. This unit helped me to understand the actual description of the evidence-based
public health that I was not previously exposed to. As per the unit outline, evidence-based public
health deals with the conscientious, judicious and explicit use of the current best available
evidence for making the required decisions about the care of community and other populations.
The unit helped me in the identification that proper application of the evidence-based practice
helps in improving health protection, disease prevention along with proper maintenance and
health improvement. During my graduation days I used to think that the application of the
evidence-based practice must be uniform across all the generation. However, studying this unit
helped me to understand that the proper application of the evidence-based interventions must
vary as per the community demands. From the unit I gained knowledge that there must be
separate community based interventions for the school students, Aboriginals, substance abuse,
older adults and young adults. Since my topic is history and public health, I was anxious about
the history of evolution of the public health as during my graduation days I was only exposed to

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the theories of the public health and not about its process of evolution. The unit readings ad the
assistance given by my experts helped me in understanding that concept of the public health and
its relation with the evidence-based practice began during 1960s in Australia under the funding
initiatives of the Australian Government. There different models of funding like health service
variations mappers (1970 to 1980), health outcomes research (1980 to 1990), evidence-based
medicines (1990 to now) and evidence-based implementation and knowledge transfer (200 to
now). These different models for health helped me to understand that how the concept of the
evidence-based practice and its application over the public health emerged. It helped to increase
my knowledge that formation of evidence-based practice is not done within a day. It happened
during a long course to time, with immense hard work, research and application.
Another important to window that was opened in my room of knowledge is importance of
evidence-based medicine and Cochrane. I am taking the name of Cochrane because, during my
graduation I used for refer to the papers published in the Cochrane database and those were
extremely helpful for by academic career. I used to think that Cochrane is the name of just like
any other databases like the PubMed. However, while reading the process of evolution of the
evidenced-based practice, I came to know that the term Cochrane is derived from the name of the
famous epidemiologist named Professor Archie Cochrane from UK. He laid the foundation of
the evidence-based medicine by conducting trials, reducing the bias in the evidence and
synthesised of the evidence in the domain of medicine. In order to commemorate his contribution
in the evidence-based trials, Cochrane Collaboration was founded.
The present study also helped to understand though there are similarities between the
evidence-based practice and evidence-based medicines, there are few differences in them as well.
While both are concerned with the importance of the empirical evidence, evidence-based

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medicine is generated from the analysis of the randomised control trials and these are vast trials
inklike the evidence-based public health.
During my graduation days I used to think that primary studies are more authentic that
the secondary studies. However, while conducting my masters in this course, I came to know that
the most authenticated studies in the public health are the systematic review of the randomised
control trial (it is a secondary study). There is a separate pyramid that helps to denote the level of
hierarchy of the research articles. In the context of the randomised control trial, I would like to
highlight that the unit helped me to understand the importance of the multifaceted community
based program in the public health under complex healthcare settings.
Application in the future practice and its relation with the competency standards
Public Health Competency Standards in Australia mainly encompass six different areas
of practice. As per understanding of the public health history and the evidence-based practice, I
will emphasise over the evidence-based professional population health practice. Under this area
of practice, I will mainly focus on the systematic reviews of the randomised control trial for the
identifications of the evidence-based interventions for the improvement of public health. I will
continuously keep myself updated about the latest practice and research for a comprehensive
application of the evidence-based practice. For the effective health promotion and health
protection, I will employ proper community based practices in order to enjoy an improved
outcome. Under the community-based interventions for the health promotion and improvement, I
will mainly focus for the promotion of the health literacy. Health literacy will help to improve
the disease self-management skills and thereby helping to reduce the chances of occurrence of
the non-communicable diseases through modifiable risk factors. Under the community based

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interventions, I will also conduct health monitoring along with surveliience. This will help me to
understand the current epidemiology of the disease and thereby helping me to devise the
evidence-based interventions accordingly. Going forward I will further refine my skills in the
health policy planning and management in order to bring positive change in the healthcare.
Conclusion
Thus in the summary of this above mentioned reflection, I would like to highlight that
evidence-based practice is an important aspect of the public health. Proper screening of the
randomised control trials helps in the identification of the evidence-based practice in the
healthcare. As per the competency standards of the public health, the use of the evidence-based
practice will help me to promote public health in a positive direction.

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