Which Evidence-Based Practice Should I Use?: A Social Worker's Handbook for Decision Making

Which Evidence-Based Practice Should I Use? A Social Worker's Handbook for Decision Making provides readers with a step-by-step guide for applying the original evidence-based practice (EBP) model to carefully select interventions from the research base for individual clients.

Readers learn how to obtain and integrate information from three key components-the best available evidence; clinical expertise; and the client's characteristics, values, and preferences-to support their choice of an effective intervention for the client.

The text employs problem-based learning and case method approaches to teach readers how to access intervention literature; how to evaluate what is "best evidence"; what the research endeavor represents and who it excludes; how to rely on the expertise of the practitioner community; and how to consider the client's view of the problem. Ultimately, readers are guided to select an EBP for a client and write a case paper that articulates the steps they took and the reasoning for their selection.

Filled with brief lectures, reflection questions, activities, and case examples, Which Evidence-Based Practice Should I Use? is an ideal text for social work practice and research courses and for mental health practitioners who wish to sharpen their skills for using the evidence base.

Rose Wong is the founding director of the Master of Social Work Program at University of the Pacific in Sacramento, California. She holds a Ph.D. and master's degree in social work from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master's degree in public and international affairs from Princeton University. Dr. Wong specializes in ethnic minority mental health and teaches courses in research, mental health practice, and human behavior and the social environment. She conducts community-based research working closely with health and mental health professionals and social workers within the Chinese American community.