Evaluating the impact of evidence-based practice and policy in public health: A case study on parent-child interaction therapy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the evidence-based practice movement and its implications for the realm of public health. The paper first described the evidence-based practice movement and examined its pros and cons, including some of the barriers to implementation. A case study on Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), an evidence-based practice (EBP), was then conducted to examine whether an EBP resulted in better outcomes than treatment as usual for clients from one agency in Durham. The findings from the data analyses showed that PCIT did not necessarily result in better outcomes than treatment as usual based on the AAPI results. PCIT also did not serve all racial groups equally well. Latino families achieved greater improvement on most subscales from treatment as usual than from PCIT, whereas African American and Caucasian clients achieved more improvement from PCIT than from the comparison treatment. Analysis of satisfaction surveys showed that PCIT clients expressed greater satisfaction than comparison treatment clients in two aspects. PCIT clients tended to believe that their providers were more knowledgeable and that their providers respected the family’s way of doing things. No significant provider effects could be observed from the data analysis.