CHR-NW is a key partner in the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC); it is a collaboration of Oregon Health & Science University, the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. The Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center began in 1997, with funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and has been reauthorized as an EPC in 2002 and again in 2007.

The Oregon EPC program’s main objectives are to synthesize existing scientific literature about important health care topics and promote evidence-based practice for use by policy makers in decisions on guidelines and coverage issues. The Oregon EPC has been at the vanguard of directly working with clinician managers, policy-makers, guideline developers, and other decision-makers to utilize evidence in order to make more well-informed decisions. We believe that direct engagement between systematic reviewers and the audiences for evidence is critical to support evidence-based decision-making, which is one key to improving health outcomes and health care efficiency. The Oregon EPC uses state-of-the-science systematic review methodologies, which rely on critical appraisal and objective synthesis of available research, to answer a series of focused research questions.

At CHR-NW, we are intimately involved in a number of Oregon EPC projects, including leading the systematic reviews being conducted to support the US Preventive Services Task Force, conducting other systematic reviews (such as the recently completed report, Effectiveness of Weight Management Programs in Children and Adolescents, and supporting AHRQ’s Effective Health Care program in comparative effectiveness as part of the Scientific Resource Center of the Effective Health Care Program.

Since 1998, the Oregon EPC has conducted quality systematic reviews for the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and has garnered significant experience assisting the USPSTF in overseeing the conduct of these reviews and incorporating systematic review findings into USPSTF recommendations for clinical preventive services. The systematic reviews conducted by Oregon EPC help the USPSTF make important recommendations on a broad range of screening, chemoprevention, and counseling preventive services. This effort is led by principal investigator Evelyn P. Whitlock, Director for Evidence-based Medicine at KPCHR and Associate Director of the Oregon EPC.

CHR-NW has produced over 15 systematic reviews on clinical preventive topics that cover the lifespan and spectrum of scientific investigation. Many result in manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as technical reports available at through AHRQ (www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm).

Recently published articles:

Prevention topics currently under review at CHR-NW include:

• Childhood overweight
• Healthy diet counseling
• Physical activity counseling
• Falls in older adults
• Skin cancer counseling
• Adult depression screening
• Cervical cancer screening
• Child and adolescent depression screening

As the largest producer of systematic reviews in North America and Canada, the EPC program is a leader in advancing the methodology of conducting systematic reviews. Ongoing efforts to scientifically evaluate the methods used to conduct systematic reviews are critical for ensuring the validity and credibility of current and future systematic reviews produced by the EPC program. Oregon EPC contributes to this effort by drafting important publications, including: 

Using Existing Systematic Reviews in Complex Systematic Reviews

Whitlock EP, Orleans TC, Pender N, Allan J. Evaluating primary care behavioral counseling interventions: An evidence-based approach. American Journal of Preventive Medicine Volume 22, Issue 4, May 2002,

Scientific Resource Center of AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program

As part of the Scientific Resource Center (SRC) at the Oregon EPC, CHR-NW provides a significant range of expertise and skill. The SRC is developing comparative effectiveness research topics, scientifically supporting comparative effectiveness reviews, supporting outcomes and effectiveness research, and supporting methodological development in comparative effectiveness.

For more information about the Oregon EPC, see EPC OHSU site. For more information about the USPSTF see United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) For more information about the SRC see Effective Healthcare Program