Social Work Practitioners and students in an evidence based practice partnership

The Evidence Base Bank at Monash Health contains more than 80 systematic reviews, built up since 2012, documenting the current state of evidence for key social work interventions in health. Social work students on placement... [ view full abstract ]

The Evidence Base Bank at Monash Health contains more than 80 systematic reviews, built up since 2012, documenting the current state of evidence for key social work interventions in health. Social work students on placement each year have compiled and critiqued these systematic reviews which evaluate the evidence in relation to specific interventions identified by social workers in our health network as central to their practice. We have implemented and evaluated a number of strategies designed to encourage and support the practitioners themselves in using the Bank. These strategies include education, guidance and mentoring. In this paper we will discuss the findings from our evaluation which detail the outcomes attained by social workers, the ways in which they are utilising the Bank to further their research understanding and inform their own practice and practice-based research, and the strategies which have been most effective in achieving these outcomes.