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Practitioners’ Views and Use of Evidence-based Treatment: Positive Attitudes but Missed Opportunities in Children’s Services

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

The research described in this article was supported by an Encouragement Grant from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine, Centre for Research in Evidence-Based Practice, Bond University, Robina, QLD, 4229, Australia

    Rae Thomas

  2. School of Applied Psychology and Griffith Health Institute, Behavioural Basis of Health, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

    Rae Thomas & Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck

  3. Center on Child Abuse and Neglect, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA

    Mark Chaffin

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  1. Rae Thomas
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  2. Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck
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  3. Mark Chaffin
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Correspondence to Rae Thomas.

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Thomas, R., Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J. & Chaffin, M. Practitioners’ Views and Use of Evidence-based Treatment: Positive Attitudes but Missed Opportunities in Children’s Services. Adm Policy Ment Health 41, 368–378 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0471-y

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