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Evidence-based practices: Building consensus in the community

Denise Elizabeth Stevens, PhD and Brenda T. Fenton, PhD. MATRIX Public Health Consultants, Inc, 85 Willow Street, Suite 3, New Haven, CT 06511, 203-787-4700, stevens@matrixphc.com

Today, funding for behavioral health services research is increasingly tied to the use of evidence-based practices (EBP; also called ‘best practices’). While a potential principal investigator is very well-versed in this area, the community providers within which these practices will be ‘inserted’ as well as associated community service systems are often not familiar with this concept. In addition to this lack of familiarity, there may be barriers (e.g. funding streams, increased costs, and provider attachment to “the way they’ve always done things”) associated with the utilization of often more comprehensive and/or intensive approaches. These concerns are legitimate, oftentimes different by locale (e.g., urban vs. rural, single vs. multiple competing providers) and must be addressed in the planning process for the introduction of a “new way of doing business” in order for evidence-based practices to be sustainable in the service sector. At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to: 1. identify key stakeholders and describe the procedure for getting their buy-in; 2. articulate necessary evidence-based practice orientation information; 3. articulate the steps required to create a forum for technology transfer (e.g., information sharing and local/regional solutions in the selection and adaptation of interventions); and 4. establish and measure consensus. Although a behavioral health example will be presented in this session, the general applicability of the method will be discussed. This topic is timely given the increasing importance of EBP in many areas of health and the growth of community participatory research.

Learning Objectives: The participant will be able to

Keywords: Evidence Based Practice, Consensus

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Mental Health Poster Session VI

The 132nd Annual Meeting (November 6-10, 2004) of APHA