Special issue on critically appraised topics in communication disorders: research evidence for use in clinical practice

摘要

Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention is proud to publish this special issue dedicated to Critically Appraised Topics (CATs) in Communication Disorders. CATs are a means for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and other professionals to determine the current best-available evidence for a given clinical question in a time efficient manner (White, Raghavendra, & McAllister, 2017). As such, CATs have the potential to play an important role in the translation of research evidence to clinical practice. Since its inception, EBCAI has highlighted the value of CATs. A call for CATs was made in the second issue of this journal (Schlosser & Sigafoos, 2007). The focus on CATs was further strengthened by White et al.'s (2017) primer on performing a CAT within the SLP field. In this special issue, Skeat and Roddam (2019a) provide a tutorial on modifying the CAT approach when reviewing qualitative studies. With qualitative research providing a valuable contribution to SLP practice, the ability to capture this research in rapid review format is especially important. Skeat and Roddam (2019b) then demonstrate the Qual-CAT approach, reviewing what parents think about their involvement in SLP intervention.