A Few Thoughts on Evidence in Social Work

Abstract

Social work practitioners must act every working day in the face of uncertainty. This uncertainty arises in part because knowledge is often difficult to locate or sometimes lacking regarding: the systems context the population being served; the particular client system; the set of problems the client system is experiencing; as well as the various interventions that could be selected. It seems reasonable to explore ways to reduce the experience of uncertainty, and narrow, if not eliminate, the knowledge gaps that arise in such situations. The generic idea of evidence-based practice has been advanced for some time as an approach to support practitioners in their day-to-day work. This article has two foci. First, it will briefly and selectively review attempts to make social work practice more evidence based. Second, it will describe one stage in the evolution of a Web-based service (information for practice [IP]). IP is a long-term project with the mission of keeping practitioners informed about news and new scholarship in the field, so that they can more easily make their practice more evidenced based.

Technology-Based Interventions in Social Work Practice: A Systematic Review of Mental Health Interventions

“…More recently, some efforts have been made to both emphasize and harness the power of the Internet to provide ongoing professional education and dissemination of evidence-based findings for social workers and mental health practitioners (Holden, Barker, Rosenberg, & Cohen, 2012; Holden, Tuchman, Barker, Rosenberg, Thazin, Kuppens, & Watson, 2012; Powers, Bowen, & Bowen, 2011). Despite increasing consumer demand for using technologies in therapeutic ways, however, the field of social work continues to question the appropriateness of technology-based interventions as a direct practice methodology (Mattison, 2012).…”

Licensed Clinical Social Workers’ Perceptions of Complementary and Alternative Interventions

“…These studies also indicated that LCSWs tend to rely on positive clinical experience to influence their practice rather than research evidence. The integration of EBP can be complex and relies on the practice, the clinician, the organization or organizational setting, and even the systems for reporting findings (e.g., academic journals; Holden et al, 2012). Further development of the evidence-base for CAI, as well as the context for using, studying, and supporting CAI needs to be expanded.…”

Systematic Bibliographic Database Searching for Literature Reviews: Case Study on Child Protection Decision-Making

“…Accountable, professional social work practice requires use of the best available knowledge to help clients, families and societies (Holden et al, 2012). In this information age, the skills of locating and retrieving digital information are becoming an increasingly important part of the repertoire for all professionals, including social workers.…”