Attitudes toward adoption of evidence-based practices: A comparison of autism early intervention providers and children’s mental health providers.

Abstract

Across the country, states are reporting increases in the number of children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) served each year in the early intervention system. Research examining factors impacting the successful dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practice (EBPs) into service systems for these children is limited. Preliminary information indicates that adoption of EBPs is variable. Provider attitudes toward the adoption of EBPs may be one factor that limits or facilitates implementation of efficacious treatments and these attitudes vary by organizational context and provider individual differences. The current study examines cross-context differences in provider attitudes toward EBPs by comparing the attitudes of 71 education-based early intervention providers working with children with ASD to the attitudes of 238 mental health providers in the public mental health system. This provides the first examination of ASD early intervention provider attitudes toward EBP. Results indicated that early intervention providers reported significantly more favorable attitudes toward adopting EBPs than did mental health providers. Early intervention providers with extended experience in the field perceived less divergence between their current practice and EBPs. Implications are discussed.

What Are the Ideal Characteristics of Empirically Supported Treatment Adopters?

“…Providers’ attitudes toward new clinical practices may hamper or facilitate the adoption of ESTs into practice settings. A quick measure of workers’ attitudes toward adopting ESTs was developed, and attitudes were investigated in relation to a set of individual differences (Aarons, 2004; Aarons & Sawitzky, 2006; Garland, Kruse, & Aarons, 2003; Pignotti & Thyer, 2009; Stahmer & Aarons, 2009). According to Aarons (2004) and Patterson, Dulmus, & Maguin, (2013), worker’s attitudes toward ESTs can be reliably measured and vary in relation to individual differences.…”

“…The studies that reported educational attainment (Aarons, 2004; Loy, 1968; Ogborne, Wild� Braun, & Newton-Taylor, 1998) found that higher-degreed workers conveyed more positive attitudes compared to those with less education. However, a more recent study found differences between the attitudes of workers with equal levels of educational attainment (Stahmer & Aarons, 2009). Aarons’s original 2004 EBPAS validation study did not find significant differences between a worker’s educational discipline and EST attitudes.…”

Refining the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale: An Alternative Confirmatory Factor Analysis

“…A growing literature suggests that individual worker-level factors affect decisions about whether health care agencies implement EBPs (Aarons, 2005; Patterson, Dulmus, Maguin, & Cristalli, 2013; Patterson, Maguin, Dulmus, & Nisbet, 2013). Some possible explanations for why workers are not implementing EBPs in practice are a worker’s years of experience (Aarons, 2004; Pignotti & Thyer, 2009), educational attainment (Aarons, 2004; Ogborne, Wild, Braun, & Newton-Taylor, 1998; Stahmer & Aarons, 2009), educational discipline (Aarons, 2004; Stahmer & Aarons, 2009), and students completing an intern-ship (Aarons, 2004; Garland, Kruse, & Aarons, 2003). All of these investigations suggested several factors that contribute to the successful implementation of EBPs.…”

Play and Joint Attention of Children with Autism in the Preschool Special Education Classroom

“…Furthermore, there is limited research on classroom-based methods (Brunner and Seung 2009). While Stahmer and Aarons (2009) found that autism early intervention providers generally reported favorable attitudes towards using evidence-based practices, little is known regarding their actual use of those strategies in practice. Finally, there is a lack of emphasis on developing symbolic play and joint attention in early childhood curricula.…”