Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work: A Contemporary Perspective

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Clinical Social Work Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper aims to provide a contemporary overview of evidence-based practice (EBP) in social work. As EBP is frequently misunderstood, we will define what EBP is as well as what it is not. In addition, we discuss some of the current challenges that social workers and the profession continue to face in integrating EBP into professional practice. Specifically, we identify concerns that practitioners have raised and include challenges related to social work education and agency concerns. We will conclude the paper with recommendations on how social workers can integrate EBP across practice settings within the profession, as well as recommendations for social work education and research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. (2014). Evidence-based practice. www.amsn.org/practice-resources/evidence-based-practice

  • American Psychological Association. (2015). Evidence-based practice in psychology. http://www.apa.org/practice/resources/evidence/

  • American Speech and Hearing Association. (2015). Introduction to evidence-based practice. www.asha.org/members/ebp/intro/

  • Arnd-Caddigan, M., & Pozzuto, R. (2010). Evidence-based practice and the purpose of clinical social work. Smith College Studies in Social Work, 80, 35–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barth, R. P., Lee, B. R., Lindsey, M. A., Collins, K. S., Streider, F., Chorpita, B. F., et al. (2011). Evidence-based practice at a crossroads: The timely emergence of common elements and common factors. Research on Social Work Practice, 22, 108–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellamy, J. L., Bledsoe, S. E., Manuel, J., Fang, L., & Mullen, E. J. (2012). Addressing the barriers to EBP implementation in social work: Reflections from the BEST Project. In T. Rzepnicki, S. McCracken, & H. Briggs (Eds.), From task-centered social work to evidence-based and integrative practice: Reflections on history and implementation. Chicago, IL: Lyceum Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bellamy, J. L., Bledsoe, S. E., Mullen, E. J., Fang, L., & Manuel, J. (2008). Agency-university partnerships for evidence-based practice in social work. Journal of Social Work Education, 44, 55–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bledsoe, S. E., Weissman, M. M., Mullen, E. J., Betts, K., Gameroff, M. J., Verdeli, H., et al. (2007). Evidence-based psychotherapy in social work training programs: Does the definition of evidence matter? Research on Social Work Practice, 17, 449–455.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bledsoe-Mansori, S. E., Manuel, J. I., Bellamy, J. L., Fang, L., Dinata, E., & Mullen, E. J. (2013). Implementing evidence-based practice: Practitioner assessment of an agency-based training program. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 10, 73–90.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borntrager, C. F., Chorpita, B. F., Higa-McMillan, C., & Weisz, J. R. (2009). Provider attitudes toward evidence-based practices: Are the concerns with the evidence or with the manuals? Psychiatric Services, 60, 677–681.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brekke, J., Ell, K., & Palinkas, L. (2007). Translational science at the National Institute of Mental Health: Can social work take its rightful place? Research on Social Work Practice, 17(1), 123–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambless, D., & Hollon, S. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 66, 7–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drisko, J. (2004). Common factors in psychotherapy effectiveness: Meta-analytic findings and their implications for practice and research. Families in Society, 85(1), 81–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drisko, J. (2013). Common Factors. In A. Roberts (Ed.), The social worker’s desk reference (3rd ed., pp. 220–225). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drisko, J., & Grady, M. (2012). Evidence-based practice. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gambrill, E. (2001). Social work: An authority-based profession. Research on Social Work Practice, 11(2), 166–175.

  • Gambrill, E. (2006). Evidence-based practice and policy: Choices ahead. Research on Social Work Practice, 16, 338–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gambrill, E. (2013). Social work practice: A critical thinker’s guide. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilgun, J. (2005). The four cornerstones of evidence-based practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 15(1), 52–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldenberg, M. (2009). Iconoclast or creed? Objectivism, pragmatism and the hierarchy of evidence. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 52, 168–187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grady, M. D., & Drisko, J. (2014). Thorough clinical assessment: The hidden foundation of evidence-based practice. Families in Society, 95(1), 5–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grady, M. D., & Keenan, E. K. (2014). Beyond the manual: Using research and evidence in social work practice. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42, 101–106. doi:10.1007/s10615-014-0494-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grady, M. D., Rozas, L. W., & Bledsoe, S. E. (2010). Are curriculum decisions based on the evidence? How social work faculty members make choices in curriculum decisions. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 7, 466–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graybeal, C. (2014). The art of practicing with evidence. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42, 116–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groopman, J. (2010). Health care: Who knows ‘best’. The New York Review of Books, 57, 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guyatt, G., Cairns, J., Churchill, D., Cook, D., Haynes, B., Hirsh, J., et al. (1992). Evidence-based medicine: A new approach to teaching the practice of medicine. JAMA, 268, 2420–2425.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, R., Devereaux, P., & Guyatt, G. (2002). Clinical expertise in the era of evidence based medicine and patient choice. Evidence-based Medicine, 7, 36–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mullen, E., Bledsoe, S. E., & Bellamy, J. (2008). Implementing evidence-based social work practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 18, 325–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, A., & McDonald, J. (2004). Power, status and marginalisation: Rural social workers and evidence-based practice in multidisciplinary teams. Australian Social Work, 57, 127–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (2008). Code of ethics. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Social Workers. (2010). Evidence-based practice for social workers. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from www.socialworkers.org/practice/clinical/csw081605snapshot.asp.

  • Nelson, T. D., Steele, R. G., & Mize, J. A. (2006). Practitioner attitudes toward evidence-based practice: Themes and challenges. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 33, 398–409.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Norcross, J. (Ed.). (2011). Psychotherapy relationships that work: Evidence-based responsiveness (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norcross, J., Hogan, T., & Koocher, G. (2008). Clinicians’ guide to evidence-based practices. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine. (2011). Levels of evidence. www.cebm.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/CEBM-Levels-of-Evidence-2.1.pdf

  • Pollio, D. E. (2006). The art of evidence-based practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 16, 224–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Proctor, E. K., Knudsen, K. J., Fedoravicius, N., Hovmand, P., Rosen, A., & Perron, B. (2007). Implementation of evidence-based practice in community behavioral health: Agency director perspectives. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 34, 479–488.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, A. (2003). Evidence-based social work practice: Challenges and promise. Social Work Research, 27, 197–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A. (2008). Practitioner’s guide to using research for evidence-based practice. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A. (2014). Bridging the gap between research-supported interventions and everyday social work practice: A new approach. Social Work, 59, 223–230.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A., & Parrish, D. (2007). Views of evidenced-based practice among faculty in master of social work programs: A national survey. Research on Social Work Practice, 17, 110–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sackett, D., Straus, S., Richardson, W., Rosenberg, W., & Haynes, R. B. (2000). Evidence based medicine. How to practice and teach EBM (2nd ed.). Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, D., Harper, H., & Startup, M., et al. (1994). The high water mark of the drug metaphor: A meta-analytic critique of process-outcome research. In R. Russell (Ed.), Reassessing psychotherapy research (pp. 1-8; 26-31). New York, NY: Guilford.

  • Simmons, B. (2013). Clinician, agency and environment variables related to clinical social workers’ involvement with evidence-based practice. Unpublished doctoral dissertation from the Smith College School for Social Work.

  • Social Work Policy Institute. (2010). Evidence-based practice. www.socialworkpolicy.org/research/evidence-based-practice-2.html

  • Towle, A., & Godolphin, W. (1999). Framework for teaching and learning informed shared decision making. British Medical Journal (BMJ), 319(7212), 766–771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States Agency for Health Care Research and Quality. (2002). Expanding patient-centered care to empower patients and assist providers. Research in Action, 5, 1–8. Retrieved from http://archive.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/patient-centered/ria-issue5/ria-issue6.pdf.

  • Wampold, B. (2001). The great psychotherapy debate: Models, methods and findings. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weissman, M., Verdeli, H., Gameroff, M. J., Bledsoe, S., Betts, K., Mufson, L., et al. (2006). National survey of psychotherapy training in psychiatry, psychology, and social work. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63, 925–934.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wike, T., Bledsoe, S. E., Manuel, J., Despard, M., Johnson, L., Bellamy, J., & Killian-Farrell, C. (2014). Evidence-based practice in social work: Challenges and opportunities for clinicians and organizations. Clinical Social Work, 42, 161–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zayas, L., Drake, B., & Jonson-Reid, M. (2011). Overrating or dismissing the value of evidence based practice: Consequences for clinical practice. Clinical Social Work Journal, 39(4), 400–405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA, USA

    James W. Drisko

  2. National Catholic School of Social Service, Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, USA

    Melissa D. Grady

Authors
  1. James W. Drisko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Melissa D. Grady
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to James W. Drisko.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Drisko, J.W., Grady, M.D. Evidence-Based Practice in Social Work: A Contemporary Perspective. Clin Soc Work J 43, 274–282 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-015-0548-z

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-015-0548-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation