Contents | 1. Introduction | 2. Essence | 3. Definitions | 4. Key questions
5. Suggestions | 6. Resources

2. Essence

Evidence based practice (BP) was first coined by a Canadian medial group at McMaster University. Since then it has been adopted and developed in many professions.

The essence of EBP is practice based on a combination of the following three factors:

1. best evidence
2. best clinical experience
3. consistent with client values

For EBP to exist in a professional setting processes are required for:

• evidence creation
• evidence dissemination
• evidence use

Some of the developments that have facilitated the development of EBP in some professional areas include:

• Journals reviewing the evidence
• Databases and information systems to store the evidence
• Systems, such as the internet for finding and accessing the evidence
• Life long learning

Some important questions for discussion when thinking about evidence based practice are:

• What do we want evidence about?
• What is best evidence?
• How do we generate and disseminate best evidence?
• How do we ensure best evidence is used in practice?

Sometimes different professions answer these questions in different ways.

There are practical implications for human service providers in using evidence based practice, for example, service providers would need to:

• Describe the theoretical frameworks that underpin service models
• Describe the connections between "understanding society and social issues experienced by people" and "the service providers' programs".
• Describe the state of knowledge in relation to interventions
• Collect and analyse relevant data that can be used in reflecting on practice and developing further knowledge about practice
• Put in place processes to reflect on practice and validate professional judgments.