Evaluation of The Necessity of Evidence-based Care for Providing Effective Care

Instead of relying on traditional practices that could perhaps be outdated, evidence-based care is based on evidence that works. Organizations employ information officers to bring them the latest research to practice, as well as offer training based on what the latest research says about a topic. In the following essay I am going to look at the benefits of how evidence-based care is necessary for providing effective care as well as the limitations it can bring when aiming to provide effective care. Finally I will reach a conclusion in response to this question after analyzing the advantages and disadvantages as well as a case study.

When looking at the benefits of evidence-based care there are many to consider, basing care on research evidence helps care workers to stay current. Some workers may have been in the job for many years and instead of relying on what they had learnt years ago it helps to keep their knowledge up to date and help to provide effective care. The Health and Social Care sector is constantly evolving and finding different ways to provide the best care to service users as possible and using evidence-based care helps to provide this. For many service users they are now beginning to question why a particular opinion or treatment is being offered to them and by using evidence-based care this can be explained to them, for many they are less willing to trust a professionals judgment alone and being giving this evidence can help reassure them that they are being given the best care possible. Care workers are able to draw on the expert summaries of the research, normally in the form of guidelines, which is not only useful for them but it saves them time having to read the research and evaluate it themselves, it gives them clear concise knowledge that they are then able to pass on to service users when needs be.

As well as looking at benefits of evidence-based care it is useful to look about what could happen if care is not based on research evidence. Dahm et al (2010) cited in The Open University explained that if care was not based on research evidence it could in fact harm service users. The example given was ‘bed rest’ which was often used as a recommendation for a variety of things such as lower back pain. However a review study of research into the effects of bed rest actually found that it could actually make things worse by weakening muscles, as well as that it did not in fact provide any benefit. Reveiz et al (2013) cited in The Open University (2014f, p.89) found that using evidence-based research stopped any unnecessary interventions such as an enema during labor. Enema’s were used in the hope of reducing infection during labor but they can actually cause additional pain, by researching the use of enemas in labor it was found that it did not decrease the rate of infection and therefore it was an unnecessary intervention. This helps to provide effective care as it stops any additional pain for the woman in labor.

Another problem that may arise when care is not based on research evidence is the waste of resources. Venekamp et al (2013) cited in The Open University (2014h, p.89) found that many children are prescribed antibiotics for ear infections, but a review of research evidence showed that most ear infections will clear up on their own and that it is actually a waste of resources to routinely prescribe antibiotics for young children with ear infections. These problems can all arise when evidence-based care is not based on research evidence and therefore will not provide effective care. Although there are many benefits of evidence-based care, there are also limitations. Evidence-based care is not an individualistic approach as Lambert et al (2006) cited in The Open University explains, research evidence only ever tells you about what is generally best but not what is actually the best for that particular person

Gillespie et al (2013) cited in The Open University found that older people who are at risk of falling, have fewer falls if they do the right type of muscle strengthening and balance activities. However even though evidence-based care talks about the effectiveness of a treatment or care, it is just as important to see if it helps to maintain service users dignity and independence so for older people even though they may see the advantage of doing these exercises they may feel that they would look ridiculous and it would be embarrassing.

Although some research is designed or commissioned by service users and can mean that their priorities and interests are addressed as Glasby and Beresford (2006) cited in The Open University explains, this is still rare and the service users can often encounter problems which makes it difficult or even impossible for them to get involved as Fudge et al (2008) cited in The Open University states. Therefore this means that basing care on research evidence is actually unlikely to empower service users and can make it more difficult for them to get the care they want if there is no clear evidence that it is likely to work.

Evidence-based research is constantly changing and it can be difficult for care workers to keep up to date with new research which could potentially make their job more difficult and stressful. Evidence-based care does not allow for intuitive knowledge, which is important in some aspects of social care and nursing as Benner et al (2009) and Pretz and Folse (2011) both cited in The Open University identified. This means that evidence-based research can leave little room for care workers who are experienced and have acquired many valuable skills to assess complex personal situations. This will then affect the level of care the service users receive.

It is more effective to see how evidence-based care works when looking at a case study. Christine Johnson is a health visitor, she used to work with a family and when she speaks to that family she finds out that the daughter Madison, is wetting the bed and Ashleigh, the mother, and is upset as she is still wetting the bed several times a week even though she is eight. Christine then offers her advice based on the NICE Guidelines which gives advice on how to manage bed-wetting in children and young people, which is an example of evidence-based care. However Christine used to work with the family so she may have been able to offer them better advice that would perhaps be more personal and useful to them. Christine giving them advice in regards to the NICE Guidelines does not necessarily mean she agrees with certain recommendations such as the reward system, if she does not think that Madison will adhere to it and not work then it would be pointless to suggest it.

Perhaps if Christine had not worked with the family before this would be very useful information but from my point of view if Christine had previously worked with me I would like something a bit more personal and individualistic than a set of guidelines.

In conclusion, there are a lot of benefits of using evidence-based care to provide effective care, it keeps workers up to date, and it can prevent harm to service users as well as stopping unnecessary intervention and can stop wasting resources. However when you look at the limitations of evidence-based care it is clear to see that it is not necessarily the most individualistic approach and it could perhaps make that particular person feel as if they are being treated as a number rather than a person. I cannot say that based on all of this evidence that there is enough for me to agree or disagree with using evidence-based care to provide effective care. I both agree and disagree with some of the evidence provided but I feel as though more research needs to be done in order for it to be used correctly. I can see how the pros slightly outweigh the cons in this argument but not enough for me to wholeheartedly agree with it. I feel that service users need to be at the center of this and for their voices to be heard because they are the ones that really matter.