The Minnesota Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) conducts systematic reviews of health care topics for federal and state agencies, professional associations, and foundations. Our reviews synthesize the evidence from clinical research studies and assess the quality of that evidence for clinicians, patients, guideline groups, policymakers, purchasers, payors, researchers, and other healthcare decisionmakers and stakeholders. Since 2002, our EPC has operated as a collaborative venture between the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, and we are proud to serve as one of the 11 evidence-based practice centers funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The mission of the EPC program is to “synthesize scientific evidence to improve quality and effectiveness in health care.” Our EPC reviews scientific literature on a wide spectrum of clinical and health services topics. In addition to systematic reviews, we produce evidence maps, scoping reviews, rapid reviews, and other evidence synthesis products. We review and synthesize literature on medical, psychological, behavioral, and organizational topics and conduct research to advance evidence synthesis methods.

The Minnesota EPC creates interdisciplinary collaborative teams to conduct, implement, and disseminate our evidence syntheses, and our investigators come from a wide variety of disciplines within the partner institutions. We draw on the wide variety of clinical and methodological experts from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Academic Health Center faculty as well as the Minneapolis VA Center for Care Delivery and Outcomes Research (CCDOR) and the Minneapolis VA Evidence Synthesis Program Center. Our EPC has a strong track record in addressing certain topic areas including prevention, mental health, functional limitations, aging, complex patients and complex interventions, and health services research. In the past, faculty affiliated with the EPC have investigated a wide range of topics, from cultural competence to drug effectiveness, prostate cancer screening and treatment to traumatic brain injury or bipolar disorder, treatment for squamous cell anal cancer or genitourinary symptoms of menopause to social drivers of health risk factors for maternal mortality and morbidity.

A complete list of reports can be viewed on the EPC Program website. Just type “Minnesota” in the search box and click “search.”

Organizations or individuals interested in partnering with the Minnesota EPC on evidence synthesis projects should contact co-directors Mary Butler or Wei (Denise) Duan-Porter.

Co-Directors

Mary E. Butler, PhD, MBA
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
butl0092@umn.edu

Wei (Denise) Duan-Porter, MD, PHD
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Wei.DuanPorter@va.gov

Lead Researchers

Philipp Dahm, MD
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
philipp.dahm@va.gov

Howard A. Fink, MD, MPH
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
howard.fink@va.gov

Mary Forte, DC, PhD
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
fort0023@umn.edu

Adrienne Landsteiner, PhD
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
adrienne.landsteiner@va.gov

Romil Parikh, MBBS, MPH, PhD
University of Minnesota SPH
parik075@umn.edu

Shahnaz Sultan, MD
University of Minnesota Medical School
ssultan@umn.edu

Bronwyn Southwell, MD
University of Minnesota Medical School
south095@umn.edu

Research Assistants

Katie Behrens, MPH
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
behr0042@umn.edu

Sallee Brandt, MPH
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
brand988@umn.edu

Kristen Ullman
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Kristen.Ullman@va.gov

Editorial

Jeannine Ouellette, MFA
Principal Writer and Editor
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
jeannine@umn.edu

Medical Librarian

Amy Claussen, MLIS
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
akla0002@umn.edu