Strategies for Disseminating Evidence-Based Practices to Staff Who Treat People With Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Evidence-based practices have not been widely implemented in real-world treatment settings for several reasons, including existing state laws, administrative policies, funding priorities, advocates' concerns, and program staffing. Dissemination strategies focus largely on program staffing and the question of why treatment teams that are responsible for assisting people with serious mental illness fail to use evidence-based practices. In a review of the research literature, two barriers to staff dissemination emerge: individual service providers lack the necessary knowledge and skills to assimilate these practices, and certain organizational dynamics undermine the treatment teams' ability to implement and maintain innovative approaches. Three sets of strategies are useful for overcoming these barriers and fostering dissemination: packaging evidence-based practices so that specific interventions are more accessible and user-friendly to service providers; educating providers about relevant knowledge and skills; and addressing the organizational dynamics of the team to facilitate the implementation of innovations. Research on dissemination is relatively new and is less well developed than the clinical and services research enterprise that has led to evidence-based practices. Implications for future studies are discussed.

The fundamentals of workforce competency: implications for behavioral health

“…Similarly, research on organizational change has demonstrated that the adoption by healthcare providers of evidence-based practices is influenced by the level of institutional resources, the attitudes of program leaders, and organizational climate (Corrigan, Steiner, McCracken, Blaser, & Barr, 2001;Lehman, Greener, & Simpson, 2002;Rosenheck, 2001). In the work setting, what truly matters is the performance of employees, rather than the ''possession'' of competencies in some abstract sense.…”

An Abbreviated Evaluation of the Efficiency of Listener and Tact Instruction for Children with Autism

“…Adaptations that make procedures accessible to instructors from a variety of skill backgrounds are critical for the overall dissemination of effective treatment (Corrigan, 2001), and are in line with our ethical obligation to provide effective procedures that are adapted to fit the participant's environment (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968). This study represents a small step in this direction that we hope is pursued further in a variety of applied settings.…”

Bridging science to service: Using Rehabilitation Research and Training Center program to ensure that research-based knowledge makes a difference

“…The information-seeking paradigm sees users as exploring, learning, analyzing, and confirming information, rather than just reading it. Experiencerelated activities are aimed at changing attitudes that limit the implementation of innovations [5,[80][81] and include the use of role models who provide the opportunity to discuss proposed innovations with peers. An experienced mentor can inculcate a sense of hopefulness about the possibility of change that is not present when users are simply provided with new information [82][83].…”

“…The challenge of getting research-generated knowledge disseminated to decision makers and practitioners has been increasingly noted in the healthcare field in general [1][2][3] and the mental health field in particular [4][5][6][7]. Given the overuse, underuse, and misuse of research information by healthcare providers, managers, and decision makers [8], many groups in the United States, such as the New Freedom Commission [8] and the Institute of Medicine [9], have called for the revision of common strategies for bridging the gap between "what is known" and "what is done" [1,[10][11].…”