Evidence-based practice center network and health technology assessment in the United States: bridging the cultural gap.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify the Evidence-Based Practice Center (EPC) network participants' perceptions of the characteristics of the EPC process and the relationship of the process to the success of EPC reports.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with the three groups involved in the EPC: EPC staff, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) staff, and representatives of partner organizations.

Results: The analysis of the coded transcripts revealed three related major themes, which form the conceptual basis for the interpretation presented here: the definition of a successful report, the determinants of a successful report, and the role of AHRQ in the process.

Dissemination of Evidence-based Practice Center reports.

The Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) program within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) provides detailed evidence reports for partner organizations that they can translate into activities that improve patient care. A review of these dissemination activities provides a rich opportunity to understand how to create more successful linkages between best evidence and best practice. On the basis of interviews with EPC directors, AHRQ staff, and representatives of public and private users of EPC reports, we summarize the variety of efforts to disseminate the work of the EPCs.