For authors
Write a CAT
You have a question the literature can answer. Scope it, appraise the evidence, and write it up using the Academy template.
Submit your CAT
Critically Appraised Topics (CATs)
Concise, peer‑reviewed summaries that translate O&P research into clinic‑ready guidance.
Evidence-Based Practice Committee
Turn a Clinical Question into Evidence Your Colleagues Can Use
CATs close the gap between what's published and what happens at the bench. Each one answers a single clinical question, appraises the studies behind it, and says plainly how much confidence the evidence supports.
Submit your CAT Browse the Library
Where to Start:
Pick the path that best matches your goals
For reviewers
Review a CAT
Clinicians, faculty, and researchers appraise submissions against a shared rubric and return edits or an acceptance decision.
Volunteer to reviewFor members
Use the evidence
Search published CATs, cite them in practice and teaching, and share them with your team or residents.
Open the libraryHow a CAT comes together
Five steps from question to publication. Most authors work through them over several weeks.
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Define a focused clinical question
Use PICO — Patient/Problem, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome. Check that the question is answerable with existing literature and matters at the bedside.
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Search and appraise the evidence
Identify the best available research, then apply the appraisal criteria in the Author Instructions. Document your search strategy as you go — reviewers will look for it.
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Draft your CAT
Follow the template: question, methods, key findings, clinical bottom line, limitations, and references.
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Peer review
The Evidence-Based Practice Committee coordinates blinded review and returns either requested edits or an acceptance decision.
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Publish to the library
Accepted CATs are formatted and added to the members-only library, where colleagues can find, use, and cite them.
What reviewers look for
Six things every accepted CAT does well. Use this as a self-check before you submit.
Focused and answerable
The question is framed with PICO and scoped to the literature that actually exists.
Transparent methods
Search strategy, databases, and inclusion criteria are documented clearly enough to repeat.
Critical appraisal
Study quality and risk of bias are assessed with standardized criteria, not summarized uncritically.
Actionable takeaway
Clinical implications are stated plainly, with benefits, risks, and limitations in view.
Professional style
Consistent formatting, accurate references, and a layout a busy clinician can scan.
Ethics and permissions
Copyright respected, conflicts disclosed, and no patient identifiers anywhere in the document.
Common questions
What is a Critically Appraised Topic?
A CAT is a concise, evidence-based summary that answers one focused clinical question in orthotics and prosthetics. It appraises the quality of the underlying studies and translates what they found into practical guidance — including where the evidence runs out.
Who can submit one?
Clinicians, residents, researchers, and educators. Student submissions are welcome when co-authored with a mentor.
What makes a strong CAT?
A well-defined question, rigorous appraisal, a clear synthesis, and a succinct clinical bottom line with limitations noted. The six standards above are the short version.
What if the evidence on my question is thin?
That is still worth reporting. A CAT that appraises limited evidence honestly — and says so — helps colleagues calibrate their expectations and points the field toward gaps worth studying. Overstating a weak finding is the only real failure mode here.
Where are the template and checklists?
Everything lives in the Where to start section above: the topic selection guide, the Author Instructions, and the Word template with structure, style, and reviewer criteria.
Who do I contact for help?
Email the Evidence-Based Practice Committee at ebpc@oandp.org with questions about topics, submissions, review, or library access.
Members-only
The Full CAT Library
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