Shaping rapid reviews in the nexus of evidence, stakeholder involvement and professional trust

There are great needs to articulate the knowledge base of many interventions used within social care services. Drawing on improvement science and research within Science and Technology Studies (STS) the aim of this project is to develop formats for reviews and recommendations within the two areas Daily acitivities (Daglig verksamhet) and Personal representative (Personligt ombud).

Social care interventions are aimed at persons who are among society's most disadvantaged. In spite of the needs for more knowledge, attempts to ensure better quality in social care via evidence-based practice have met with firm resistance. Within what is sometimes called the evidence movement, methods have been developed for searching, synthesizing and grading the degree of evidence of a specific intervention. The problem of these methods and the definitions of evidence have been a lack of epistemological reflection and an overemphasis on quantitative research methods.

Exaggerated standardization as well as exaggerated fear of standardization are well on display in empirical studies within STS about the evidence movement. Unwise use of rules and formalizations can indeed create problems for many organizations, but results also indicate that professionals adjust existing standards to their own needs. Standards do not oppose reflections and discretion. In contrast, standards enable new forms of judgment and have the potential to coordinate otherwise separated actors. The research shows how the shaping of standards involves the creation of hybrid worlds that are not pre-determined. These processes create a balance between different types of knowledge, interests and view-points. In this project the format "rapid reviews" will be developed and tried within an organization together with professionals and stakeholders. The work draws on proven models from improvement science and concepts and methods from the sociology of standardization.