Table 6 Main effects reported by participants after the workshop

Knowledge dissemination (persuasive use)

- Preparing a report after the workshop for one’s superiors

- Reporting to the members of a civil society organisation

- Discussing the results at a meeting in a health centre

- Loaning the policy briefs to colleagues to make them aware of the results

Confirmation (persuasive use)

- Confirming observations made by participants in the field (improper use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), doing more than just distributing mosquito nets, etc.)

- Confirming a belief that there was not a rise in prescriptions after the introduction of free healthcare

Learning (conceptual use)

- Learning about the researchers’ data collection process

- Learning about the existence of research projects on malaria in Kaya and about the results

- Theoretical learning (e.g. a positive RDT is required for each malaria case treated, free healthcare is not effective everywhere, household behaviours affect malaria propagation)

- Results inspiring new ideas: following the example of the researchers’ data collection methods to send more workers into the field

Change (instrumental use)

- Reorienting certain interventions to better achieve the objectives

- Individual awareness-raising: ensuring each patient has his own mosquito net

- Changing practices in some health centres: waiting 20 days before repeating a treatment if the RDT is positive

- Conducting home visits to verify the use of mosquito nets