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 9 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
Phone: 612-624-6124
Email: butl0092@umn.edu

Dr. Wei (Denise) Duan-Porter
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Phone: (612) 467-5845
Email: Wei.DuanPorter@va.gov

Clinician Investigators
Howard A. Fink, MD, MPH
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Phone 612-467-3304
Email: howard.fink@va.gov

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

Shahnaz Sultan, MD
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Email: shahnaz.sultan@va.gov

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

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

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

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

Research Assistants
Katie Behrens, MPH
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Email: behr0042@umn.edu

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

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

Medical Librarian
Amy Claussen, MLIS
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
Email: akla0002@umn.edu