Integrated "5S" Levels of Organization of Evidence Pyramid

Abstract

The “5S” levels of organisation of evidence pyramid developed by RB Haynes is a widely used model that was designed to assist healthcare practitioners in targeting high level of evidence information to aid in clinical decision making. While the 5S pyramid is undoubtedly useful, incorporating a broad range of information types within the context of the pyramid was necessary; therefore, new components were integrated. We present the “5S” integrated levels of evidence pyramid model that approaches clinical decision making in a holistic manner by incorporating non-evidence-based resources, study types within the existing pyramid levels, a delineation between primary and secondary sources of information, and helps to map available resources to corresponding level.