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Integrating routine clinical interventions with single-case methodology: Parallels, differences and bridging strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2019

Robyn L. Tate ,
Michael Perdices  and
Donna Wakim
Robyn L. Tate*
Affiliation:
John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
Michael Perdices
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Donna Wakim
Affiliation:
John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: robyn.tate@sydney.edu.au
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Abstract

Clinical practice offers the opportunity for the clinician to be a scientist-practitioner in the workplace. This, in turn, facilitates building practice-based evidence. But this can only occur if the effects of the interventions are objectively and systematically evaluated. To this end, single-case methodology is a valuable tool to implement an intervention in a scientifically rigorous manner and gather data on treatment effectiveness. It is possible to incorporate single-case methods into routine clinical practice by using a few simple strategies. This paper examines the ways in which single-case methodology departs from (a) routine clinical practice and (b) the familiar between-groups research design, such as the randomised controlled trial. It presents five practical strategies that will bridge the gap between routine clinical practice and single-case methodology. The Model for Assessing Treatment Effect is described as providing context for and a framework to self-evaluate the scientific rigour in clinical practice and benchmark service delivery.

Keywords

single-case experimental designscientist-practitionerpractice-based evidencemultiple-baseline designchanging-criterion design
Type
Clinical Practice: Current Opinion
Information
Brain Impairment , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , March 2020 , pp. 99 - 109
Copyright
© Australasian Society for the Study of Brain Impairment 2019 

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