Enhancing information pertaining to client characteristics to facilitate evidence-based practice

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Evidence-based practice (EBP) integrates empirically supported treatments, clinical expertise, and client characteristics.
• Barriers to studying and disseminating research on client characteristics within EBP require elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify barriers in the research and dissemination of client characteristics within evidence-based practice.
• To analyze the extent to which client characteristics are considered in empirical studies of psychological treatments.

Main Methods:

• A systematic examination of 338 empirical papers from psychologicaltreatments.org.
• Categorization of studies based on the availability of efficacy evidence related to gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES).

Main Results:

• Gender was the most frequently considered client characteristic, appearing in only 7% of studies.
• Efficacy in relation to race/ethnicity or SES was analyzed in less than 2% of the examined studies.

Conclusions:

• Findings highlight a significant gap in research considering client variables in treatment efficacy studies.
• Researchers are urged to incorporate client characteristics into efficacy research.
• Training programs should equip students to integrate client variables into evidence-based practice.