Evidence-based practice is vital in decision making during the creation of public and social policies by the government since the policies guide the entire society in different contexts. This paper will exhaustively discuss public policy and social policy including the factors that should be considered in making policies. The paper will also explain evidence-based research and show its importance to the well-being of society, giving an example of how it has led to policy change. Lastly, the paper gives the role that social scientists play in linking research, theory, and practice.
Public Policy
Public policy refers to the process by which a government addresses its citizen’s needs and maintains order through actions that are constitution driven. This specifically includes a collection of regulations, laws, and mandates that are established through a political process with the aim of guiding the entire country (Wainwright et al., 2018). For instance, the recent change in the U.S. healthcare system requires citizens to have insurance were a political and legal process aimed at serving American citizens.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Social Policy
Social policy is a policy based on a political setting involving concerns on how different societies across the globe addresses human needs for education, health, security, and well-being. Social policy is also concerned with how societies and states respond to different global challenges like economic and demographic change, poverty, globalization, and migration (Wainwright et al., 2018). It also focuses on identifying ways to reduce inequalities when accessing services and providing support to social groups defined by ethnicity, race, sex orientation, and disabilities between countries.
Factors to be considered in making policies
To avoid inconsistent policies that may be unfair or lead to social problems, several factors must be considered before making any policies. First and foremost is the need for effective communication when giving a message to the government since it can easily be misinterpreted. Moreover, engineers and scientists must consider timing when giving contributions and also understand their audience as they give scientific advice. Societal values and factors must also be considered when making the policies (Wainwright et al., 2018). This is because societal values may at times conflict with scientific evidence instead of being in line with each other.
Evidence-based research and its importance in the well-being of society
Evidence-based research refers to the use of solid and sound research to make decisions instead of basing on opinions. The sound research must include several sources, both electronic and published, for the collection of data, giving results, and drawing conclusions on valid topics. In regard to the well-being of society, evidence-based research is vital since it provides a basis for decision making and implementation of practices in society (Wainwright et al., 2018). It determines what works and what does not work based on sound research and the government often follows its conclusions to the latter.
An example of how evidence-based research has led to policy change
The feasibility of a policy significantly depends on evidence-based research including changes that may be needed after the policy has been formed. For instance, useful and quantitative data regarding specific health issues led to the change of the healthcare system to involve insurance coverage to every citizen. The government also used qualitative information such as narrative accounts to reform the previous healthcare system.
Role of Social Scientists in linking Theory, Research, and Practice
Social scientist focuses on the study of society and how people relate within the society. Social scientists are also involved with providing solutions to some of the world’s issues such as crimes, health issues, or alternative energy. They give solutions basing on applicable theories and sound evidence-based research. To do this, social scientists identify available information on the subject matter and back it up with sound evidence-based research (Wainwright et al., 2018). The feasibility of the findings is then put in practice to understand if it is applicable in real life.
Conclusion
Both public and social policies should be based on evidence-based research that can be trusted. The process of policy making must consider effective communication from the research team to the audience and also consider societal values and factors.
References
Wainwright, D. W., Oates, B. J., Edwards, H. M., & Childs, S. (2018). Evidence-Based Information Systems: A New Perspective and a Road Map for Research-Informed Practice. Journal of the Association for Information Systems , 19 (11), 1035–1063. https://doi.org/10.17705/1jais.00519
