Table 4 Factors influencing the use of the SPANS findings to inform policy and practice

Research Quality and Content

· Survey program perceived to be of high methodological quality: longitudinal and conducted by an independent and credible research team

· Survey findings did not provide all the answers: needed to be considered alongside evidence about effective interventions

“…of course just monitoring is not a solution” (EU6, 2004)

· Survey program perceived to be aligned to the priorities of policy makers and practitioners with adaptations made over time to meet needs

Lack of specificity of the data: Unable to provide data at regional/sector level

“I think SPANS cannot stand alone, it has to have an evidence summary of interventions behind it to inform good policy” (EU2, SPANS 2004 & 2010)

“the Ministry/Department has worked really hard…to make sure that…the questions that the survey’s asking are, I suppose, the right ones for the priority areas as well…So I think over time the surveys have kind of adapted to have different kinds of questions in them…it’s been purposefully closely aligned with policy priorities and government priorities and I think that helps” (EU9, 2010 survey)

Dissemination Process

· Use of active dissemination strategies e.g., discussion of findings at workshops between researchers and end-users.

Lack of reports tailored to specific end-user groups/sectors highlighting key implications of the findings

“… there was a major dissemination strategy amongst a set of orgs” (EU6, 2004)

“…there probably should be a report for practitioners … What does this mean to you?”…

· A range of ‘knowledge transfer’ products produced e.g., short reports highlighting key findings and recommendations.

What does it mean for a teacher who’s 55, has never played sport before..I think if we really want to get good at this, take SPANS and write it for different audiences… So SPANS for academia, SPANS for policy, SPANS for the general public” (EU2, 2004 & 2010 surveys)

· End-users acted as ‘knowledge brokers’ facilitating dissemination of SPANS findings within their sector

“….we’ve done canteen newsletters and things like that and we’ve reported SPANS results and we reference it there” (EU5, 2010)

· Active engagement of the media resulting in high levels of media coverage, public debate and discussion

“I also sit on the [policy] group for obesity, so the report was discussed on a number of occasions at that meeting as well. You see the media reports they’ve generated…we receive…draft copies of the report as well, in terms of the discussions that we had with Health” (EU5, 2010 survey)

Contextual Issues

· Supportive policy context for addressing child obesity with the release of the SPANS findings fitting well with some policy cycles (government obesity plan and planning of national curriculum)

Political instability and poor timing e.g., frequent changes in ministerial positions and poor fit with some policy cycles

Limited sector capacity and resources e.g., lack of funds to implement the findings in some sectors at certain time points

· Continuity and Partnerships between researchers and end-users from the inception of SPANS program facilitated dissemination, ownership and use of the findings

“….then there’s some infrastructure issues we need to look at; there needs to be some resourcing” (EU2, 2004 & 2010 surveys)

· Mechanisms and structures in place to implement recommendations e.g., Policy relevant forums involving key end-users

“…probably prior to 2002 …there was a relatively limited amount of funding in this aspect of Health Promotion - …So in terms of influencing programs it would have been difficult ‘cause we’ve …no money to include programs” (EU1, 1997 & 2004 surveys)

· Good fit with organizational culture and ways of working e.g., value placed on having an ‘evidence base’ for practice and policy decisions amongst end-user groups

“I think the Department of Education knew of the findings or the recommendations that were going to be made because they also had ownership of those..they had to agree on those for the draft report. So I think by that stage they’d already said: We want this recommendation here and this is how we’re going to respond to it.” (CI, 1997 & 2004 surveys)