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Introducing evidence-based practice: the contrasting experiences of health care and probation service organisations in the UK

There is much interest in the UK at the present time in making public policy and practice more evidence-based. Many current initiatives focus on the creation of a systematic evidence-base for the various public policy fields. However, experience to date has shown that the fate of much research on service effectiveness is neglect. This paper looks at this issue from the point of view of changing public service practice so that it is in line with best evidence. The paper provides contextual accounts of the ways in which two public service areas (health care and the probation service) have approached the task of introducing evidence-based practice. It argues that the success of evidence-based practice initiatives is likely to depend upon the interaction between the context, content and process of these changes. Particular initiatives, such as the use of audit and feedback mechanisms to achieve practice change, are unlikely to work in all contexts.