(Gold standards for scientific proof of efficacy and effectiveness as prerequisites for the dissemination of intervention programs in the field of early intervention. Randomized controlled trials).

摘要

The necessity of early intervention is recognized both nationally and internationally. This however goes hand in hand with the legitimate request for proving the efficacy and effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs. There are many international studies on this. Some of these exhibit a number of problems, which often restricts the validity of the studies' results. A scientific evaluation of programs in Germany, on the other hand, is often missing entirely or the studies and evaluations are currently in progress. The article at hand using the example of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) gives an overview of which gold standards of evaluation are desirable or should be scientifically demanded to prove efficacy and effectiveness of prevention/intervention in the field of early intervention. Standards for efficacy refer to 1) specification of the program's efficacy, 2) program documentation, 3) evaluating the quality of how the program was carried out, 4) recording and evaluating expected changes, as well as 5) conclusions concerning the causality of results and generalizations. Standards for efficiency refer to 1) description of the intervention, 2) evaluation in real-life contexts and 3) cost-benefit analysis. Based on a presentation of these standards, recommendations are made for the dissemination of prevention and intervention programs.