Evidence-Based Approach in the Social Area: Basic Concepts and Guidelines, History, Prospects

The article is devoted to the development of the evidence-based approach in the field of psychological and social practices. The article analyzes the concept of evidence-based practice, its main aspects and components. The authors show that the transfer of the evidence-based approach from medicine, where it originated, to the social sphere was accompanied by significant changes in the very concept of evidence-based practice. Reliance on scientific research of the effects of practice remains the main principle of the evidence-based approach, but in the field of psychosocial practices, the emphasis on the role of interpersonal interaction in the implementation of the practice, involving all its participants in decision-making, including patients/clients/beneficiaries, is no less significant. Unlike medicine, where priority is given to randomized controlled trials, the empirical justification of social practices can be based on other methodologies too, including quasi-experimental studies and even qualitative case descriptions. The danger of bureaucratization of the social sphere due to the introduction of the evidence-based approach is discussed. According to the authors, there is a tendency to understand evidence-based practice as a choice from a limited number of decisions supported by research and/or supported by donors. However, this simplified “drug model”, although convenient for funding organizations, does not correspond to the essence of the evidence-based approach. Proponents of the evidence-based approach certainly support practitioners to use practices with a solid empirical basis, but at the same time to focus on the entire context of interaction with a patient/client, their needs and the capabilities of the social support system.