Walking the tightrope-perspectives on local politicians’ role in implementing a national social care policy on evidence-based practice

Abstract

BackgroundDespite national policy recommending evidence-based practice (EBP), its application in social care has been limited. While local politicians can affect the process, little is known about their knowledge, attitudes and roles regarding EBP. The aim here is twofold: to explore the role of local politicians in the implementation of EBP in social care from both their own and a management perspective; and to examine factors politicians perceive as affecting their decisions and actions concerning the implementation of EBP policy.MethodsLocal politicians (N = 13) and managers (N = 22) in social care were interviewed. Qualitative thematic analysis with both inductive and deductive codes was used.ResultsPoliticians were rather uninformed regarding EBP and national policy. The factors limiting their actions were, beside the lack of awareness, lack of ability to question existing working methods, and a need for support in the steering of EBP. Thus, personal interest played a significant part in what role the politicians assumed. This resulted in some politicians taking a more active role in steering EBP while others were not involved. From the managers’ perspective, a more active steering by politicians was desired. Setting budget and objectives, as well as active follow-up of work processes and outcomes, were identified as means to affect the implementation of EBP. However, the politicians seemed unaware of the facilitating effects of these actions.ConclusionsLocal politicians had a possibility to facilitate the implementation of EBP, but their role was unclear. Personal interest played a big part in determining what role was taken. The results imply that social care politicians might need support in the development of their steering of EBP. Moving the responsibility for EBP facilitation upwards in the political structure could be an important step in developing EBP in social care.

Local and regional politicians’ considerations of newly arrived migrants’ health in political decision-making: a public health study in northern Sweden

“…In line with this study, previous research has shown that both knowledge and attitudes are important for practices and behaviors. A study on Swedish local politicians' views on their role in the implementation of evidenced-based practice in social care in municipalities found that a personal interest and knowledge were important for how they viewed their roles and what actions they took (Bäck et al 2016). A study on municipalities in Finland in the 1990s questioned the association between politicians' attitudes and outcomes in priority setting and resource allocation within health care (Lammintakanen and Kinnunen 2004).…”

“…However, little research on politicians' role in health promotion has been conducted to date. Moreover, the focus has often been on priority setting and resource allocation (Garpenby and Nedlund 2016;Rosén et al 2014) or on the implementation of evidence-based practice (Bäck et al 2016). Although political ideology and political will have been suggested as important factors for achieving health equity (Bryant 2010), they have not been investigated as systematically as other health-promoting factors (Catford 2006).…”

Correction to: Walking the tightrope-perspectives on local politicians’ role in implementing a national social care policy on evidence-based practice

“…In the original version of this article [ 1 ] one of the quotations was unfortunately misattributed. The first quotation “It’s more about having an interest in the issues and familiarizing yourself with the working methods and the target group, and so forth.…”

Stöd till personer med psykisk funktionsnedsättning

“…Det centrala är dock att det finns intresse och att det läggs ner ansträngningar på att utveckla och diskutera stödets innehåll, och här är både den politiska nivån och förvaltningen inom kommunernas socialtjänst viktiga aktörer. Det finns studier som visar på otydlighet i fråga om ansvaret för en kunskapsbaserad socialtjänst mellan dessa nivåer, men också tecken på att intresset för frågorna ökar (Bäck et al, 2016;Socialstyrelsen, 2017b).…”