Evidence-based practice in child and adolescent mental health services

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Healthcare Services Research

Background:

• Evidence-based practice (EBP) is crucial in child and adolescent mental health services.
• Significant variability exists in defining and assessing the evidence base across different treatments.
• Understanding the unique dimensions differentiating child from adult EBP is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the status, strength, and quality of evidence-based practice in child and adolescent mental health.
• To identify key differences between evidence-based practices for children versus adults.
• To assess the readiness of the current evidence base for widespread dissemination.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and synthesis of existing scientific studies on child and adolescent mental health services.
• Analysis of definitional criteria applied to the evidence base for various treatments.
• Comparison of evidence-based practices for child populations versus adult populations.

Main Results:

• The evidence base for child and adolescent mental health services is characterized by differing definitional criteria, impacting the scope and depth of evidence.
• Major dimensions distinguishing child-focused from adult-focused evidence-based practices were identified.
• The current evidence base requires further investigation into its applicability within diverse service delivery settings before large-scale dissemination.

Conclusions:

• Healthy skepticism is warranted regarding the immediate large-scale dissemination of child and adolescent evidence-based practices.
• Further research is needed on the contextual fit of empirically supported treatments within actual service delivery settings.
• Developing new clinical service models that integrate the practice setting is vital for accelerating EBP dissemination.