CAHE and the Joanna Briggs Institute
The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) takes its name from Joanna Briggs, a 19th century Australian nurse. Joanna worked at the Adelaide Hospital as a nurse from 1849, when her husband, Henry Briggs, served as the hospital's dispenser. In 1856 the hospital moved to larger premises (the current site of the Royal Adelaide Hospital) where Joanna Briggs was appointed the first Matron of the new institution. At the time of her appointment, her staff consisted of only three nurses and four wardsmen. By the time of her retirement in 1866, the hospital employed 21 nurses.
In taking Joanna’s name the Joanna Briggs Institute acknowledges the initial financial and organisational support of the Royal Adelaide Hospital and this early Australian health care leader.
The Joanna Briggs Institute is the coordinating body of the international organisations within the Joanna Briggs Collaboration. Collaborating centres are self-governing centres that have agreed to act as partners within the framework of the Joanna Briggs Institute and the constituent parts of a body that promotes and facilitates evidence-based health care.
The operations of the Joanna Briggs Institute include the promotion of evidence-based health care, education and training, the conduct of systematic reviews, the development of Best Practice Information Sheets, the implementation of evidence-based practice, and the conduct of evaluation cycles and primary research arising out of systematic reviews.
In 2002 the Joanna Briggs Institute put out a call for a number of allied health fields to create collaborative centres within the parameters of the JBI Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) philosophy endorsed by this institute. Staff at the University of South Australia, felt they called offer a number of disciplines under one Allied Health umbrella and put forward the idea of a multi-disciplinary centre, incorporating physiotherapy, occupational therapy, medical radiations and podiatry, later including complimentary and alternatives medicines. This concept was embraced by JBI and in August 2003 the Centre for Allied Health Evidence (CAHE) came into fruition and has been taking the message of EBP in Allied Health to world ever since.
CAHE embraces the philosophies and goals of the Joanna Briggs Institute. CAHE is a unique allied health JBI member that promotes the conduct of high quality allied health research, its dissemination and evaluation in a manner that is likely to make a difference to patients. Incorporating EBP into clinical practice is one of CAHE's main objectives and CAHE is proactive in promoting the messages and principles of the Joanna Briggs Institute locally, nationally and internationally.