This article draws on both a cross-sector literature review of mechanisms to promote evidence-based practice and a specific review of ways of improving research use in social care. At the heart of the article is a discussion of three models of evidence-based practice: the research-based practitioner model, the embedded research model, and the organizational excellence model. The article concludes that the ideas contained within each of these models are likely to be appropriate at different times and for different service settings. There is a need to build on such models to develop a coherent framework for strategies to promote research use.
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