AFFILIATIONS AND ACCREDITATIONS
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 191,500 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students.
NCSHLA promotes the professional practice of the speech, language and hearing sciences, advocates and serves as the voice of the profession, and works to enhance the lives of communicatively impaired citizens in North Carolina.
In 2004, ASHA's Executive Board convened a coordinating committee on evidence-based practice. This committee, charged with assessing the issue of evidence-based practice relative to planning needs and development opportunities for ASHA, used a variation of this definition:
The goal of EBP is the integration of: (a) clinical expertise/expert opinion, (b) external scientific evidence, and (c) client/patient/caregiver values to provide high-quality services reflecting the interests, values, needs, and choices of the individuals we serve. Conceptually, the trilateral principles forming the bases for EBP can be represented through a simple figure (above).
Because EBP is client/patient/family centered, a clinician's task is to interpret best current evidence from systematic research in relation to an individual client/patient, including that individual's preferences, environment, culture, and values regarding health and well-being. Ultimately, the goal of EBP is providing optimal clinical service to that client/patient on an individual basis. Because EBP is a continuing process, it is a dynamic integration of ever-evolving clinical expertise and external evidence in day-to-day practice.