Adaptation of the Evidence-Based Practices Attitude Scale in Spanish child welfare professionals

Needs and Attitudes Related to the Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices Among Latinx Mental Health Professionals

Empirically supported interventions are warranted to achieve desired clinical outcomes and improve service delivery. Thus, efforts to identify, adopt, and implement Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs) are underway across various Latinx communities, including Puerto Ricans, where there is a growing recognition and prevalence of mental health and substance use disorders. This study investigated the needs and attitudes toward EBPs among an interdisciplinary sample of mental health professionals in Puerto Rico. An anonymous survey was distributed to social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors (N = 237). Using structural equation modeling, four dimensions of attitudes towards EBPs (openness, divergence, appeal, and requirement) were regressed on various individual and organizational factors. Some socio-demographic characteristics, educational opportunities, and organizational factors significantly contributed to specific attitudes related to the adoption of EBPs. Female participants and those working in rural settings scored higher in the openness to innovation dimension. Greater organizational support and graduating from a private institution were associated with more divergence from research, while married individuals and those trained on EBPs scored lower on this dimension. The lack of exposure to EBPs in college and younger age predicted greater interest in the appeal of adopting an EBP intervention (i.e., would adopt an EBP if it made sense). No differences in attitudes toward EBPs were found by professional discipline or work setting (i.e., clinical, community, and schools). Recommendations to increase openness and interest in the appeal of EBPs among Spanish-speaking professional communities in Latin America are highlighted.

The Incredible Years Parenting and Child Treatment Programs: A Randomized Controlled Trial in a Child Welfare Setting in Spain

Incredible Years (IY) is a well-established multicomponent group-based program designed to promote young children's emotional and social competence, to prevent and treat child behavioral and emotional problems, and to improve parenting practices and the parent-child relationship. This study presents the first randomized controlled trial carried out in Spain to test the effectiveness of the Incredible Years Basic Parenting and Small Group Dinosaur Programs in a sample of families involved in child welfare due to substantiated or risk for child maltreatment. One hundred and eleven families with 4- to 8-year-old children were randomly allocated to IY or to a control group who received standard services. Baseline, post-intervention, and 12-month follow-up assessments were compared. Results showed that compared to the control group, the IY intervention made a significant positive difference in parents' observed and reported use of praise, and a significant reduction in reported use of inconsistent discipline, parenting stress, depressive symptomatology, and perception of child behavior problems. A full serial mediation effect was found between participation in IY, changes in parenting practices, subsequent parenting stress reduction, and both final child abuse potential reduction and perception of child behavior problems. No moderating influence on IY effects was found. Findings provide evidence that transporting the IY Basic Parenting and the Small Group Dinosaur Programs with fidelity is feasible in Child Welfare Services in Spain.

Reliability of the Swedish version of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale assessing physiotherapist's attitudes to implementation of evidence-based practice

Purpose

To translate and apply a cross-cultural adaptation of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) in Swedish and investigate its absolute and relative reliability.

Methods

The original EBPAS (a questionnaire assessing health professionals’ attitudes to implementation of evidence-based practice) was translated into Swedish using a forward and backward procedure, including a group discussion and expert committee. To assess reliability, 55 physiotherapists (48 women) aged 23–64 years from different clinical settings in the Stockholm region answered the EBPAS by postal survey twice within an interval of 2 weeks.

Results

The Cronbach’s alpha values for EBPAS were >0.721. The intraclass correlation (ICC) between test and retest (relative reliability) was moderate to good for the four subscales, with ICC(A.1) and ICC(C.1) values approximately equal and in the range 0.56–0.89. Values for the absolute reliability of the mean score were a standard error of measurement of about 7% and a smallest real difference of about 19%.

Conclusion

The Swedish version of the EBPAS shows mainly good reliability.

Openness to adopting evidence-based practice in public substance use treatment in South Africa using task shifting: Caseload size matters

BACKGROUND

In response to the lack of coverage for substance use treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa, the local government expanded funding for evidence-based practices (EBPs) for treating substance use. Yet, little is known about provider and staff attitudes towards adopting EBPs in this setting, which is particularly relevant in this context where task shifting clinical care increases demands on paraprofessional providers. This study aimed to (1) assess attitudes towards adopting EBPs among a range of staff working in substance use treatment in Cape Town using a task shifting model; and (2) evaluate factors associated with openness towards adopting EBPs in this setting.

METHODS

Staff (n = 87) were recruited from 11 substance use treatment clinics. Demographics and job-related characteristics were assessed. Staff perceptions of organizational factors were assessed using the TCU Organizational Readiness for Change (ORC) scale. The dependent variable, attitudes towards adopting EBPs, was assessed using the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS).

RESULTS

This study is one of the first to administer the EBPAS in South Africa and found good internal consistency (total score: α = .82). In a multivariable model adjusting for site and factors associated with EBPAS total score at the bivariate level, only smaller caseload size was associated with greater openness to adopting EBPs (B = 1.61, SE = .73; t = 2.21; p<.05).

CONCLUSIONS

As pressure to scale up implementation of EBPs in South African substance use treatment services intensifies, additional efforts are needed to understand barriers to adopt EBPs in this setting. Supporting staff adoption of EBPs in resource-limited settings may require additional resources to limit staff caseloads in the context of task shifting.