Practitioners' views and use of evidence-based treatment: positive attitudes but missed opportunities in children's services.
The extent evidence-based treatments (EBTs) are used in clinical practice within the Australian therapeutic child welfare sector is unknown. In this study, we investigated practitioners' knowledge, attitudes, and use of EBT when providing interventions to children and families and how the intended outcomes of interventions are evaluated. Practitioners (N = 112) from 41 non-government organizations were surveyed and reported few barriers to implementing EBTs and positive attitudes. While just over half the practitioners surveyed provided an accurate definition of EBT, 72 % of practitioners reported using EBTs in their clinical practice. Of those, 88 % reported modifying the EBT, however interventions were rarely evaluated systematically. Implications for the use of EBTs, how they are modified, and the role of systematic evaluation are discussed.
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice, Bond University, Robina, QLD, 4229, Australia, rthomas@bond.edu.au.
Rae
R
Thomas
Melanie J
MJ
Zimmer-Gembeck
Mark
M
Chaffin
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D003625:Data Collection; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy; D011793:Queensland; D012947:Social Work