2000 word essay which explores the concept of evidence based practice

2000 word which explores the concept of evidence based practice and evaluates its relavance and contribution to practice - Essay Example For instance, depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Lowe, et al 2001) and anxiety disorders (American Psychiatric Association; 2000), particularly obsessive compulsive disorder (Halmi et al., 2003), are among the comorbid conditions found in people with eating disorders. In adolescent-onset anorexia, depression appears to be triggered by the eating disorder, and the individual is put at risk for experiencing future depressive episodes (Ivarsson et al, 2000). Although anorexia affects persons of all ages, adolescence appears to be the developmental period of particular significance in the etiology of eating disorders; hence, identification and clinical intervention during this stage are crucial. This paper aims to synthesise and critically analyse the existing research on the treatment of anorexia nervosa in adolescence from the perspective of evidence based practice, more particularly family therapy systems approach. The term â€Å"evidence-based† is prevalent within the health care setting today. If there is any doubt, a quick glance at the current medical and allied health research literature would remove it. Medical doctors, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, music therapists, and many others, have begun to describe their treatment interventions as evidence-based. As with most established theories and concepts, the thoughts and beliefs behind evidence-based medicine have been traced by some to practices of ancient cultures throughout history (Sackett et al, 1996). However, most authors on the subject will credit Archie Cochrane, Scottish epidemiologist, with developing the modern concept behind evidence-based medicine, which was made popular through his landmark text Effectiveness and Efficiency: Random Reflections on Health Services (White, 1997). The most widely known and commonly quoted definition of evidence-based