Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health Care to Ethnic Minority Communities: Has Its Practice Fallen Short of Its Evidence?

• Published in: Social work (New York) Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 297 - 306
• Main Author: Aisenberg, Eugene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Oxford University Press 01-10-2008; National Association of Social Workers; National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
• Subjects: Access to Health Care; Adults; Biomedical research; Care and treatment; Clinical trials; Collaboration; Communities; Community Relations; Company business management; cultural competence; Cultural Competency; Cultural diversity; Cultural Relevance; Cultural values; Culture; Empirical evidence; Ethnic groups; Ethnic Groups - statistics & numerical data; Ethnic minorities; Ethnicity; Evidence; Evidence based medicine; Evidence Based Practice; Federal funding; Funding; Generalizability; Health Programs; Health Services; Humans; Intervention; Knowledge; Management; Medical practice; Mental Disorders - ethnology; Mental Disorders - psychology; Mental Disorders - therapy; Mental Health; Mental health care; mental health disorders; mental health policy; Mental Health Programs; Mental health services; Mental Health Services - organization & administration; Meta Analysis; Minorities; Minority Groups; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - organization & administration; Problems; Program Development; Program Effectiveness; Psychiatric disorders; Psychiatric services; racial and ethnic minority groups; Randomized Controlled Trials; Resistance (Psychology); Scientific Research; Social Work; Social Work - methods; Social workers; State Policy; Treatment Methods; Wisdom; United States; evidence-based practice; mental health policy; cultural competence; racial and ethnic minority groups; mental health disorders
• ISSN: 0037-8046; 1545-6846
• DOI: 10.1093/sw/53.4.297

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has contributed substantially to the advancement of knowledge in the treatment and prevention of adult mental health disorders. A fundamental assumption, based on documented evidence of effectiveness with certain populations, is that EBP is equally effective and applicable to all populations. However, small sample sizes of ethnic minority populations in randomized clinical trials prevent strong and clear conclusions about the effectiveness and generalizability of EBP with regard to people of color. In addition, the appropriateness of EBPs to ethnic minority communities has rarely been investigated. This article critically examines the applicability and dissemination of adult mental health EBP to diverse ethnic minority populations. It highlights limitations of EBP rooted in its epistemological narrowness, exclusion of communities of color, and lack of cultural competence and examines whether the practice of EBP has overstepped its evidence. This article presents a framework characterized by pathways of epistemological partnership and substantive inclusion of racial and ethnic minority groups to facilitate the promotion of culturally responsive EBPs and to inform mental health practice and policy implementation.