Promoting Evidence-Based Practice in Disability Support Services

Introduction

The international trend towards evidence-based practice in healthcare is well established within New Zealand. The development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines and, more latterly, clinical indicators of best practice, are familiar to many health researchers and professionals.

In the area of disability support services, however, there is typically little understanding or use of an evidence-based approach, in both policy and practice. Decisions at all levels are too often based on media reactions, political perceptions, and tradition. The end result is that people with disabilities and their families do not always receive the most effective services, and resources are not deployed appropriately.

Progress to date

The New Zealand Guidelines Group has attempted to promote evidence-based developments in disability support services (DSS) by:

• managing the technical implementation service for the implementation of the New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline
• manaing a living guideline programme for the New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline
• including some key leaders in DSS on guideline development training courses
• holding seminars for interested disability providers and professionals in the main centres
• providing full-day and half-day workshops at the Second National Guidelines Conference in 1999 (total attendance was 85 people, a copy of the report on these workshops is attached)
• providing a grant towards a guideline development in DSS vocational/day services (currently in progress)
• promoting evidence-based practice by individual members of the New Zealand Guidelines Group
• developing en evidence-based guideline on Assessment Processes for Older People.

Barriers to further development

Although there is significant interest and support within the DSS sector, progress is hindered by the following factors:

• limited funding to date for NZGG for promotion and development of an evidence-based approach in DSS
• a serious lack of disability research and development funding in New Zealand
• the lack of a critical mass of DSS professionals and consumers trained in guidelines development and critical reviews of evidence
• no infrastructure support for strategic planning and development in DSS research and development
• the very broad range of services covered by DSS within Vote: Health
• the apparent tendency for DSS issues to be relatively invisible and powerless within the whole Health sector
• the lack of knowledge of health policy analysts and professionals of disability research and how to access it.