We know that children and families who receive rigorously tested interventions are shown to have improved outcomes and are more likely to benefit – and to a greater degree – than those who receive other services.
However, there is often a gap between what the evidence tells us is effective and what is being commissioned for children and families locally.
The purpose of the research was to investigate and provide insights on the range of factors that influence decision making and what the barriers and enablers might be to adopting evidence-based practice. Between September 2023 and January 2024 we carried out a mixed methods study that included:
Our findings demonstrated that commissioners and those involved in service design want to use evidence to inform their practice. However, there are many barriers that get in the way including:
Despite these challenges, there remains a clear appetite for working in a more evidence-led way. Some of the suggestions made were:
Commissioners and practice leads also made useful comments about how Practice Guides could be made more accessible and relevant for a broad audience. These included changes and additions to content, structure and ways of ensuring they are known about by a wider audience.
“We were able to offer the client very concrete suggestions about how to improve evidence based practice that will ultimately ensure children and families benefit from interventions that have been demonstrated to work well.” Clare Dodwell, Principal Consultant and Project Lead.
Key success factors included:
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