The authors take issue with the claims made by Howard and Jenson and raise concerns regarding practice guidelines within social work practice, implications for social work education, and ethical issues. Cautions are made as to the role of the National Association of Social Workers in the development of practice guidelines. Collaboration is urged among social work professional organizations, schools of social work, social service agencies, and practitioners to meet the challenges of practice guideline implementation. Only with collaboration between the practice and research communities can practice guidelines serve as an opportunity to heal the chasm between practitioners and researchers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Psychiatric Association. (1995). Practice guidelines for the treatment of patients with substance abuse disorders: Alcohol, cocaine, opioids. Supplement to the American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 3-50.
2.
Benbenishty, R. (1996). Integrating research and practice: Time for a new agenda. Research on Social Work Practice, 6, 77-82.
3.
Berger, J. T., & Rosner, R. (1996). The ethics of practice guidelines. Archives of Internal Medicine, 156, 2051-2056.
4.
Callahan, J. (1996). Social work with suicidal clients: Challenges of implementing guidelines and standards of care. Health & Social Work, 21, 277-284.
5.
Clinton, J. J., McCormick, K., & Besteman, J. (1994). Enhancing clinical practice: The role of practice guidelines. American Psychologist, 49, 30-33.
6.
Council on Social Work Education. (1992). Curriculum policy statement. In CSWE handbook of accreditation standards and procedures (pp. 134-144). Alexandria, VA: Author.
7.
Epstein, I. (1996). In quest of a research-based model for clinical practice: Or, why can’t a social worker be more like a researcher?Social Work Research, 20, 97-99.
8.
Epstein, L. (1996). The trouble with the researcher-practitioner idea. Social Work Research, 20, 113-117.
9.
Fraser, M. W. (1994). Scholarship and research in social work: Emerging challenges. Journal of Social Work Education, 30, 252-266.
10.
Fraser, M. W., Jenson, J. M., & Lewis, R. E. (1993). Research training in social work: The continuum is not a continuum. Journal of Social Work Education, 29, 46-62.
11.
Grimshaw, J. M., & Hutchinson, A. (1995). Clinical practice guidelines—do they enhance value for money in health care?British Medical Bulletin, 51, 927-940.
12.
Grimshaw, J. M., & Russell, I. T. (1993). Effect of clinical guidelines on medical practice: A systematic review of rigorous evaluations. The Lancet, 342, 1317-1322.
13.
Hogarty, G. E. (1989). Meta-analysis of the effects of practice with the chronically mentally ill: A critique and reappraisal of the literature. Social Work, 34, 363-373.
14.
Howard, M. O., & Jenson, J. M. (1999). Clinical practice guidelines: Should social work develop them?Research on Social Work Practice, 9(3), 283-301.
15.
Meyer, C. H. (1996). My son the scientist. Social Work Research, 20, 101-104.
16.
Munoz, R. F., Hollon, S. D., McGrath, E., Rehm, L. P., & VandenBos, G. R. (1994). On the AHCPR depression in primary care guidelines: Further considerations for practitioners. American Psychologist, 49, 42-61.
17.
Persons, J. B., Thase, M. E., & Crits-Christoph, P. (1996). The role of psychotherapy in the treatment of depression: Review of two practice guidelines. Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 283-290.
18.
Proctor, E. K. (1994, April). Research and research training in social work: Climate, connections, and competencies. Paper presented at the 7th National Symposium on Doctoral Research and Social Work Practice. Ohio State University, Columbus.
19.
Rosen, A. (1994). Knowledge use in direct practice. Social Service Review, 68, 561-577.
20.
Rubin, A. (1992). Education for research utilization in BSW programs. In A. J. Grasso & I. Epstein (Eds.), Research utilization in the social services: Innovations for practice and administration (pp. 369-391). New York: Haworth.
21.
Wakefield, J. L., & Kirk, S. A. (1996). Unscientific thinking about scientific practice: Evaluating the scientist-practitioner model. Social Work Research, 20, 83-95.
22.
Walker, R. D., Howard, M. O., Walker, P. S., Lambert, M. D., & Suchinsky, R. T. (1995). Practice guidelines in the addictions: Recent developments. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 12(2), 63-73.
23.
Witkin, S. L. (1996). If empirical practice is the answer, then what is the question?Social Work Research, 20, 69-75.
