Attitudes Toward Evidence-based Practice in Child and Youth Welfare: The Role of Implementation Climate and Professional Quality of Life

Abstract

3Abstract Evidence-based practices (EBPs) can support the delivery of high-quality, evidence-informed care for children and adolescents, yet are rarely implemented in German Child and Youth Welfare Service (CYWS) facilities. Although attitudes toward EBPs have been associated with EBP use, implementation is also shaped by organizational and individual factors. However, little is known about these relationships among child welfare workers (CWWs) in German CYWS facilities. This study therefore examined attitudes toward EBPs and their associations with perceived implementation climate and professional quality of life among CWWs. Baseline data of 161 child welfare workers in 37 German CYWS facilities from multi-center cluster-randomized controlled trial BETTER CARE were analyzed. Associations between the implementation climate (Implementation Climate Scale (ICS)) and the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) on attitude toward EBPs (Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS)) were examined using LASSO-based predictor selection followed by multiple linear regression analyses with cluster-robust standard errors. The ICS subscales recognition ( β = 0.22, p = .002), rewards ( β = -0.21, p = .004), and selection for openness ( β = 0.26, p = .002), as well as the ProQOL subscales burnout ( β = -0.60, p < .001) and compassion satisfaction ( β = 0.32, p = .022) were significant predictors of the attitudes toward EBPs among CWWs. Among CWWs in German CYWS facilities, attitudes toward EBPs were associated with selected dimensions of implementation climate and professional quality of life. The findings suggest that attitudes toward EBPs should be considered within their organizational and individual context.