RTI-UNC Evidence-Based Practice Center

RTI International, in collaboration with the five health professions schools and the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, operates the RTI-UNC Health Care Practices and Technology Assessment Center as an Evidence-Based Practice Center (EPC) for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The Center is one of 13 EPCs sponsored by the AHRQ.

Available as a resource to the entire health care community, the RTI-UNC EPC produces systematic reviews and analyses of the scientific evidence (evidence reports and updates) on a variety of health care and health policy topics. It also builds on these reports to create materials and messages for patients and clinicians relating to health care decisions. EPC personnel also conduct research into the best practices and methods for conducting reviews of the scientific literature.

The Center prepares AHRQ reports and technology assessments as well as reports for other public and private health care organizations on topics of their choosing. Center staff design and conduct customized literature searches and quantitative analyses.

News Releases

• Too Much or Too Little Weight Gain Poses Risks to Pregnant Mothers, Babies
• More Research Needed to Identify Effective Treatments for Uterine Fibroids
• New Report Finds Smokers More Likely to Quit with Counseling and Medication Use
• New Report Finds No Significant Differences in Effectiveness of Antidepressants
• Report Finds Existing Medicines Ineffective for Treating Anorexia Nervosa
• Report Sheds New Light on Benefits, Harms of Cesarean Deliveries
• Study Finds Depression Is Prevalent in Women During Pregnancy, but Often Undetected
• RTI-UNC Evidence-Based Practice Center Study Finds Routine Episiotomies Offer No Benefits
• Literacy Deficits Adversely Affect Healthcare Use, Outcomes
• Task Force Recommends Primary Care Clinicians Prescribe Fluoride Supplements to Prevent Cavities in Preschool Children
• UNC-RTI Study Supports Aspirin To Cut Heart Attacks In People Who Have Not Yet Had Heart Problems
• Task Force Issues Recommendations on Diabetes Screening for Adults and Pregnant Women
• RTI/UNC Study Reports that Antifungal Drug Can Prevent Thrush in People Who Are HIV Positive

Published Studies

• Biologics for the Treatment of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Critical Analysis of the Evidence (Clinical Rheumatology 27:67-76, 2008)
• Systematic Review: Comparative Effectiveness and Harms of Disease-Modifying Medications for Rheumatoid Arthritis (Annals of Internal Medicine 148[2]:124-134, 2008)
• Treating the Physical Symptoms of Depression with Second-Generation Antidepressants: A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis (Psychosomatics 49:191-198, 2008)
• Efficacy and Tolerability of Second-Generation Antidepressants in Social Anxiety Disorder (International Clinical (Psychopharmacology 23[3]:170-179, 2008)
• Outcomes of Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Literature (Int J Eat Disord 40:293-309, 2007)
• Anorexia Nervosa Treatment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (Int J Eat Disord 40:310-320, 2007)
• Bulimia Nervosa Treatment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (Int J Eat Disord 40:321-336, 2007)
• Binge Eating Disorder Treatment: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (Int J Eat Disord 40:337-348, 2007)
• Cesarean Delivery on Maternal Request: Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes (Obstet Gynecol 108[6]:1517–1529, 2006)
• Systematic Review: Smoking Cessation Intervention Strategies for Adults and Adults in Special Populations (Ann Intern Med 145:845-856, 2006)
• Perinatal Depression: A Systematic Review of Prevalence and Incidence (Obstet Gynecol 106(5):1071-1083, 2005) 
• Impact of Local Adjuncts to Scaling and Root Planing in Periodontal Disease Therapy: A Systematic Review (J Periodontol 76:1227-1236, 2005)
• Outcomes of Routine Episiotomy: A Systematic Review (JAMA 293:2141-2148, 2005)
• Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes for Patients with Low Literacy: A Systematic Review (JGIM 20:185-192, 2005)
• Literacy and Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review of the Literature (JGIM 19:1228-1239, 2004)

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Guidelines for Reviewers and Applicants

• CBPR Reviewer and Applicant Guidelines
• CBPR Reviewer Checklist
• CBPR Requests for Applications and Peer Review

Additional Links

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research

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RTI-UNC EPC Web Site

RTI established this RTI-UNC EPC Web site to provide a central repository for project-specific information and descriptions of evidence-based approach processes as well as to document AHRQ EPC topics. More information about the RTI-UNC EPC is available on the following EPC Web site pages:

• RTI-UNC EPC Resources and Capabilities
• RTI-UNC EPC Methods and Results
• RTI-UNC EPC Recent Topics and Projects
• RTI-UNC EPC Reports

Evidence-Based Practice brochure