Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 2) | Page 166

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multiple problems namely, skills and capacity deficits; external pressures and
disadvantages and internal difficulties. These programmes usually involve
one to one casework, group work and skills training.
8
The above research findings on child birth weight, child outcomes
and its linkages to other social phenomenon such as delinquency, illustrates
the value of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). EBP first emerged in the medical
field where there is a need to ensure that medication and treatment are
tested and shown to benefit patients. A group of doctors were the pioneers
of evidence-based medicine. This group of doctors challenged the status
quo. One of them, Iain Chambers, was dissatisfied with the way medicine
was taught. Attending medical school in the 1960s, he was unhappy over
the need to regurgitate facts, and wished that he was given tools to find out
what kind of medical treatments work best. When working for the United
Nations in the Gaza strip, he saw that some things he learnt in medical
school were harmful- such as treating children with measles with antibiotics.
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This spurred Iain Chambers, who specialises in obstetrics to conduct
systematic reviews of evidence on child birth and, with his colleagues,
published Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth in 1989. Seeing the
need for doctors to be accountable to provide treatment with evidence,
Iain Chambers also founded Cochrane Collaboration – a collation of
systematic reviews of the best evidence that help doctors and patients
make more informed choices about treatment. 5 For example, on Cochrane
Collaboration, you can find out the evidence on whether exercising will
reduce symptoms of depression. 6
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One of the more renowned social work equivalents to Cochrane
is the California Evidence-based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare. 7 I do
hope that in the future, the social service sector in Singapore will have a
depository hub of evidence-based practice that is widely used in the ASEAN
region and beyond.

What is Evidence-Based Practice?
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EBP is the intersection of research, best practices and clinical
information that directs practitioners to find and apply the most suitable
intervention for their clients. It overlaps and integrates 3 major sources
of practice or information – empirical evidence, social worker’s judgment
formed through observations and assessments, and client characteristics.
5

6
7

Smith, R. & Rennie, D. (2014). Evidence based medicine – an oral history. BMJ. doi: http://
dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g371
http://community.cochrane.org/cochrane-reviews
http://www.cebc4cw.org/
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