The Results of Evidence - Case Study Example

Appraisal Of Evidence For Professional Practice In Social Work Evidence based practice isa practice that has been gaining a lot fame and importance throughout the medical history since its start. This practice was formally introduced in 1992. This practice formally started with the field of medicine then it moved on to other fields also, fields like nursing, psychology, education and dentistry. The whole idea is centered around two things, the whole study is based on the factor such as that the decisions should be made after the research related to the current study has been made from various other studies. The interpretation of the study has to be done using various tools and predefined set of instructions and procedures. This will give a definite sound to the whole research and will make the research more concrete. The sets of rules that are defined in Evidence based practice are those that do not consider the derivative results from the qualitative and theoretical studies. The results that are derived from quantitative study are considered in the Evidence based practice. The results that are derived or obtained using quantitative studies are known as the evidence. Evidence-based behavioral practice (EBBP) "entails making decisions about how to promote health or provide care by integrating the best available evidence with practitioner expertise and other resources, and with the characteristics, state, needs, values and preferences of those who will be affected. This is done in a manner that is compatible with the environmental and organizational context. Evidence is comprised of research findings derived from the systematic collection of data through observation and experiment and the formulation of questions and testing of hypotheses" (www.ebbp.org). Evidence based practice has helped eliminate the quacks that are there and were faltering the whole concepts and studies related to medicine and various practices. The whole reason that the idea of evidence based practice has come into existence that there were a lot of issues with the studies and researches that were being done, all the issues were relevant to the concreteness of the study. After the introduction of the concept of evidence based practice, professionals were bound to use the best evidence that was available and this increased the chances and frequency of better studies and better researched projects. The core activity that is used in connection with evidence based practice is that there are many observations and constant regular checkups and updates so that the research that is done is of sound quality. Then there is regular and meticulous recording of data and various other updates that are then used for systematic retrieval if the need arises. This system has therefore gained a lot of importance because, the patients have faced better results and more improved treatments. This has also caused more better archives to be developed for further studies and researches. Other than this there also has been a lot of development related to the field, and there are many toolkits that have been developed so that the doctors who treat have a designed framework according to which they act and deal with their patients (GREAT BRITAIN, 2008). There is a lot of intricate decision making that is involved in the evidence based practice because each and every patient has different characteristics and this causes a lot of thought process and intuition based judgments on the part of the practitioner. The practitioner can use the details to make an assumption especially in the case of adult mental patients, but then again it is very important that the practitioner should also make sure that the various characteristics of the patients should be considered before the decision is made as each and every patient differs in the symptoms. In case of psychological patients and mental illnesses the doctors use the approaches that are all relevant to the studies related to psychology. The evidences that are used in relation with the psychology are those that some treatments of mental illnesses might be better, while some of the approaches might not be effective in some cases. Therefore the best method that can be used is to at first study the symptoms of the patient that has arrived with some kind of mental illness and then look up the archives to find if any such conditions have been recorded before, if this has happened then the practitioner then should look up the history of previous cases and then considering the condition of the patient take action accordingly. It is very important that the condition of the patient is taken into consideration other wise blank application of previous practices would yield no impact or result. There are six categories that should be considered when the Evidence based practiced is being applied, they are, using the research design as the basis of the practice that would be used, studying the theoretical background of the problem and the metal illness that is there and then using the existing practices as a tool to take required action, studying the various practices and then comparing the current situation to realize whether there is any evidence of possible harm if a certain practice is applied in the current situation of mental illness, and then using the concept of general acceptance so that the results are duly found. . There are two basic principles that are to be taken care of when working through the evidence based practice for a patient. I It should be based on research based studies. II That these research studies are preferred and inferred according to some precise customs features for EBP. It uses current best evidence in making the right kind of decision in the process of cure for the patients. Health care is a very sensitive area; the psychologists like doctors, continuously struggle and work hard to get the best of available practices. It has been compared against other psychological practices as well so that it can be assured that this practice is the most effective one. Many scientific researches have been conducted through various methods, so that it can be verified on larger scales. It has been noted that evidence based practices can help the symptoms reduce greatly in the patients. It has been seen that this method of treatment has been evaluated and corrected with time so that the patients can enjoy best of health practices. Most common of the therapies or practice that is used under the umbrella of Evidence based practices is the cognitive therapy and the behavior therapy. The best part that this kind of treatment can be used for children, young adults and adults at the same time (WHITTAKER, 2009) GRAY, PLATH, WEBB,2009).  This treatment is based on the researched evidence. Earlier the practices that were used were all very much based on the simple methods and were very much based in intuition rather than facts. The methods were all devised by gut feelings or general feelings. Evidence based practices are the ones that have been established after they were widely carried out as experiments and the data then collected and recorded. There are a few criteria that should be satisfied for a practice to be labeled as the evidence based practice, and certifies the efficiency and efficacy of the practice (VAN WORMER, THYER, 2010) : IOWA PIC criteria: According to this a practice should have been considered as effective and workable by at least one clinic that has a high traffic of patients. Clinical trials are considered as a very easy and a near about accurate method to determine whether the method is effective or not. But this cannot be just any clinic, there are some set of external and as well as internal criteria set for the clinic to qualify as one that can be used for certifying a practice as a best practice. The research has to remain effective when it is replicated over other clinics too. Even the methods should remain constant even when they are being used over different samples, regions and different population category. This kind of approach has proved to be very helpful, as many a time it has been difficult for various organizations to adjust or buy various methods to treat their patients. This evidence based practices proves to be very helpful as many clinics who cannot afford to buy various treatments can use these for a wide range of psychological disorders. The practice should target the behavior of the patient, if it cannot completely cure the behavior, it should at least have some impact on it. The practice should be designed in such a way that it has direct relation with the behavior, even if the practice improves the health of a patient, it will not be considered applicable as the patient still will have that habit existing in him. Usually these kinds of treatments are used as to be able to help a person get rid of a certain habit in his behavior. The practice should be applicable in the rural areas as well as in low density areas. It is highly advisable for the practice to be applicable, as the entire reason for the existence of the evidence based practice finishes if it is not widely applicable. The first criteria according to researchers is that it should be derived after much experimentation and seeing the trend of success in the data collected then only it can be made applicable. Even then scientists believe that the practice must have some kind of sound grounds or basis in the field of science and should not be made on intuition basis (CORBY, 2006). The evidence based practice should be a feasible one, it can be used in group or individual format, the people who will be using it consider it worth the cost, it should not be costly and lastly it should be easy to train. These evidence based practices are usually designed keeping in view the budgets. These researches are usually funded by the governments; therefore, when validating such practices for their efficiency or effectiveness it is very important that they are cost effective and trainable at the same time. The practice should be based on a sound articulated theory and not just random thought. Theories that are designed on the basis of some well established theories are considered to be accurate. Theory driven practices are considered to be truer and more applicable and as well as more effective. The most used example which is used is when the child is suffering from lack of attention. In this case the child starts to behave erratically and becomes either very withdrawn or very active. It is normal for a child to be subdued at some times and active at some, but if this kind of mood swings becomes a persistent habit and continues that it is necessary that a child sees a psychiatrist. Once the psychiatrist or psychologist starts working on the child, they will surely use the information from the earlier practices. The general practice is to first consider the condition of the patient, then to probe into the circumstances that have brought about the condition, then the suggested therapy and then closure of the practice. This usually blamed to the habits the parents have or usually considered a problem in kids with single parents (LEWIS, 2004) SHEPPARD, 2004).  This kind of treatment is especially used in adults with schizophrenia. In this case the adults are given medicines along with the psychological interventions which help the medical practitioners practice in a far more effective way. There are a lot of methods that have been developed and identified throughout the time period in which the practice was developed, after considering them all the following have been identified and expressed as the ones that more effective and useful over the course of long time. These practices have also appeared in various American Alzheimer’s related research (GREAT BRITAIN, 2004): Antipsychotic medications: These medications are the highest and most frequently used method to curb the factors related to mental illness in the patients. The sole reason that this practice is considered as the best practice is that the relapse of the patients that are treated with medicines is quite less also the symptoms of the illness is reduced greatly through the treatment that is done with medicines. Family education and support: When the family is given support programs and trained and told about the issues that arrive along with the disease, it has been observed that the relapse of the patient is quite less. It is very important that the family is taught about all the issues that are involved with the disease so that they can learn to cope better with all the progressing elements that come with the disease. Illness-specific counseling: Though this practice is also used but the relapse rate is high in them as compared to the other treatments as they cause the patient to feel left out and lonely and thus do not have the desired impact on the patient. Assertive Community Treatment: Treating the patients in groups also help the patients feel that they are not alone and this helps create better response from the patients. Supported employment: This helps the patient feel that he is not dependent upon any one and thus will struggle to improve more and create a better life for themselves. It is very important that the nurses are trained duly. The practices should be well explained to the nurses as they are the ones who are responsible for treating the patients and taking care of the patients (WOODWARD, MESTECKY, 2011). Adequate training should be given to the support staff as well so that there are hardly any issues at the time of implantation. It is very important and necessary that the during the treatment of the patients there are no disparities because a lot of mishaps occur due to improper handling and lack of knowledge on the part of the nursing and the medical staff. The chances of relapse of the patients also increase if the medical staff is not trained properly (Poell, Rob, Woerkom, 2011) (GREAT BRITAIN, 2004). REFERENCES GREENHALGH, T., & HURWITZ, B. (1998). Narrative based medicine: dialogue and discourse in clinical practice. London, BMJ Books. GREAT BRITAIN. (2008). Rapid Evidence Assessment Toolkit sitemap: REA toolkit. London, Government Social Research Unit. http://www.gsr.gov.uk/professional_guidance/rea_toolkit/sitemap.asp. WOODWARD, S., & MESTECKY, A.-M. (2011). Neuroscience nursing: evidence-based practice. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K., Blackwell Pub. Poell, Rob F, and Marianne V. Woerkom. Supporting Workplace Learning: Towards Evidence-Based Practice. Dordrecht: Springer, 2011. Print. GREAT BRITAIN. (2004). Improving guidance and research: a compendium of two research projects. London, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. VAN WORMER, K. S., & THYER, B. A. (2010). Evidence-based practice in the field of substance abuse: a book of readings. Thousand Oaks, Calif, Sage. TRAUER, T. (2010). Outcome measurement in mental health: theory and practice. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. PRITCHARD, C. (2006). Mental health social work evidence-based practice. London, Routledge. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=200432. PRITCHARD, C. (2006). Mental health social work evidence-based practice. London, Routledge. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=200432. GRAY, M., PLATH, D., & WEBB, S. A. (2009). Evidence-based social work: a critical stance. London, Routledge. WHITTAKER, A. (2009). Research skills for social work. Exeter, Learning Matters. http://site.ebrary.com/id/10519145. SHEPPARD, M. (2004). Appraising and using social research in the human services an introduction for social work and health professionals. London, Jessica Kingsley Publishers. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=129937. LEWIS, V. (2004). The reality of research with children and young people. London, Sage in association with the Open University. Read More