Intro to evidence-based social work practice. Created for Simmons College Library's Social Work LibGuide.

1. EVIDENCE-
BASED
SOCIAL WORK
PRACTICE

2. EBP
“ is based on the
best available
evidence of the
effectiveness of
particular
programs, services,
“
and interventions.

3. NASW Code of Ethics.
Growth
CSWE Curriculum Standards.
Legislation mandating greater
Factors
professional accountability.
Managed Health Care.
Consumer advocacy movement.
Outcome-based funding.
Malpractice lawsuits.

4. Adoption
Philosophical + epistemological
Barriers
differences about knowledge claims.
Problems applying research-based
generalizations to individual clients +
circumstances.
Inconclusive or contradictory research
literature.
Lack of guidance or tools to facilitate
implementation or adoption of EBP.

5. Adoption
Barriers
View that complex + contextual social
work practice will be reduced to
narrowly defined “treatments” +
“problems.”
Concern about the de-emphasis of the
practitioner as expert with privileged
knowledge.
Belief that EBP stifles innovation.

6. let’s more
take a
constructive
approach.

7. constructive
Evidence comes in many forms.
EBP is compatible with empowerment
approaches to practice.
EBP is not an exclusive guidance system.
The research literature includes innovative
programs + services.
Bench-trench research partnerships that honor
real-world practice challenges are increasing.
Readily accessible implementation tools exist.

8. 1. Be motivated to apply EBP.
2. Phrase your information need
as an answerable question.
3. Track down the best available
evidence.
Start
4. Critically evaluate the evidence conducting
you find.
5. Integrate it with your clinical EBP
expertise and client’s
circumstances.
6. Assess the intervention’s
outcomes.

9. orinother
words question
search
evaluate
apply + assess

10. Think of an answerable
question.
“A question that’s based on your information
needs, in terms of a
population, issue, intervention, sett
-ing, or type of evidence and on specific
aspects of your client’s
“ problem
or condition.

11. questions
like:
What has been shown to help… …stop crack cocaine abuse.
What community-based
interventions reduce… …student absenteeism.
What psychosocial treatments
work … …to reduce the risk of
teenage pregnancy.
What group therapies improve… …prenatal care adherence.

12. Locate and retrieve
relevant information.
Clarify your concepts
and facilitate your
search by developing
a comprehensive list
search
of search terms.
Use a variety of
information sources.

13. content
validity
currency
relevance
reliability
source
evaluate

14. Engage in collaborative decision making with
clients.
Consider unique values, needs, + cultural
characteristics of the client and adapt EBP
accordingly.
Develop a plan to assess the impact + outcome of
the intervention.
apply + assess

15. Time.
Challenges
Training in search and evaluation.
Controversy regarding the hierarchy of
evidence.
Shortage of relevant evidence.
Need for access to electronic resources.
Social Workers may become “evidence users”
rather than independent evaluators, replacing
one authority with another.

16. let’s briefly
summarize
EBP.

17. EBP Client’s
Best available
research evidence.
characteristics,
EBP Resources,
including
state, needs,
practitioner
values +
expertise.
preferences.
Environment + organizational
context.

18. The
End.
Simmons College Library reference {at} simmons {dot} edu simmons.edu/library