Intentions to Engage in Evidence-Based Practice among Undergraduate Social Work Students: Preliminary Findings from Romania

Abstract

Knowledge and familiarity of evidence-based practice (EBP) is a key competence to social workers entering the workforce. The literature review revealed no studies on Romanian graduates that have measured the beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors students have about EBP in the final semester of their bachelor's of social work (BSW) degree program. A sample of 89 students drawn from one public school in Romania completed the instrument. The questionnaire included measures of familiarity, attitudes, feasibility, and intentions for future use as well as demographic information. Overall, students are familiar with EBP steps and principles and have quite positive attitudes. However, only familiarity significantly predicts their intentions to engage in the EBP process upon graduation. Attitude does not contribute to the regression equation, meaning that these are not yet consolidated. These results indicate a need for attention to teaching EBP in BSW programs. To provide optimal care, practitioners must be able to locate, interpret, and apply current best evidence to a given social problem.