Anita Padmanabhanunni1*
*apadmana@uwc.ac.za
1 Private Bag X17, Department of Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitudes Scale (EBPAS) among South African mental health care providers working with trauma. South Africa has one of the highest rates of exposure to trauma and a significant proportion of the population experience chronic psychological problems. In this context, evidence-based practice (EBP) offers a cost-effective avenue of enhancing standards of care and promoting the use of effective interventions. However, the adoption of EBP remains low and this is a significant public health concern. Existing research in the United States and Europe have identified the attitudes of service providers as a significant barrier to EBP use. Many of these studies used the EBPAS, which provides an assessment of service provider attitudes towards EBP. The instrument has been found to be psychometrically sound in developed countries. However, there remains limited research on the instrument in other contexts. The present study expanded existing research by investigating the replicability of the reliability and reported factor structure of the EBPAS in a developing country. More specifically, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test three different models of the hypothesized factor structure underlying the scale. The results support the second order and four-factor structure of the EBPAS. The reported norms provide a reference point for future research in the context of developing countries.
Keywords: evidence-based practice; EBPAS; mental health care; psychometric properties; provider attitudes; South Africa, trauma
Published online: 2018/03/01
Published print: 2018/03/01
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