Which step in Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) involves finding evidence using bibliographic databases?

Finding evidence is a crucial step in the Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) process, and it specifically entails using bibliographic databases to locate relevant research studies, clinical guidelines, and other authoritative sources that address the clinical question posed. During this step, practitioners search for empirical data that can inform their clinical decisions, drawing on a wide range of medical literature, including systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses.

This step follows the initial phase of formulating a question, where a clear, focused clinical question is identified, often using frameworks like PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome). After gathering evidence, practitioners will move on to appraise the found evidence for quality and relevance, and ultimately apply it to clinical practice. Thus, identifying and retrieving pertinent literature using bibliographic databases is central to this phase in the EBM process.