At Blueprints, Del Elliot wonders aloud what is happening to the term evidence-based
In this year’s closing plenary session of the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development conference, keynote speaker and Blueprints founder, Delbert Elliott, asked us whether we can we rescue the concept of evidence based. While more and more systems across the nation and world have embraced the use of evidence-based programs for the treatment of antisocial behaviors, the term itself has undergone a transformation.
Originally, it referred to any program that had met minimum standards of rigorous research to back up its claim of being “evidence-based.” Over time, however, the concept of evidence based has come to refer to any program that can point to a continuum of evidence—everything from statistically significant findings in a controlled experiment to the personal opinions of a select few. In practice, this means that many programs with minimal research are being implemented under the evidence-based banner. In some cases, a treatment that research has shown produces no effect, or even harmful effects, is using the evidence-based term.
Quality assurance a must for good outcomes
Dr. Elliott provided a four-point plan for saving the concept.
- Stop using programs that do not work or are harmful.
- Select programs supported by rigorous experimentation, what he calls “Experimentally Proven Programs” (EPP) like MST, when it is available and if it fits the needs.
- If an EPP is not available, then use the best available evidence to implement a treatment.
- Evaluate all non-EPPs.
Dr. Elliott ended by saying that we must either come to some unified agreement about what the term evidence-based means or drop it in favor of a term for truly effective treatments that we can agree on.
To anyone interested in what it means to be an evidence-based Blueprints program, consider listening to Del’s talk. You will be inspired, encouraged, and challenged by his words. Listen and decide for yourself what it means to be “an evidence-based program.”
