Definition of Evidence-Based Practice
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is not a catchphrase. It is not a cookie cutter approach to social work practice. It is a process which involves critical thinking and evaluation of information to determine the most effective and efficient treatment for your client or community. It is a three pronged approach, taking into consideration:
- The Practitioner's Individual Expertise
- The Client's Values and Expectations
- The Best Evidence
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Other Definitions of Evidence Based Practice
- Social Work Policy Institute"EBP is a process in which the practitioner combines well-researched interventions with clinical experience, ethics, client preferences, and culture to guide and inform the delivery of treatments and services." (Social Work Policy Institute)
- (Gibbs, 2003)"Placing the client’s benefits first, evidence-based practitioners adopt a process of lifelong learning that involves continually posing specific questions of direct practical importance to clients, searching objectively and efficiently for the current best evidence relative to each question, and taking appropriate action guided by evidence." (Gibbs, 2003)
Why Use It?
- EBP discourages the use of pseudoscientific or harmful interventions.
- It encourages professional social workers, nursing professionals, and psycholgists to base their interventions on evidence-supported treatment.
- It is part of the Social Work Code of Ethics.
EBP Tutorials
- EBP Online Resource Training CenterTen Modules
- EBP Tutorials - EBM LibrarianMedicine, Nursing, Social Work, Allied Sciences
- Evidence-Based Practice TutorialDuke University Medical Cente
Coordinator of Instructional Services
Thank You!
"Thank yous" to Professor Sue Wortman, University of Michigan Library, for permission to use and adapt her Evidence-Based Research LibGuide and toProfessor Jo Dorsch, University of Chicago Library and her Evidence Based Medicine LibGuide.