Table 1 Linking RTA framework (adapted from Lavis et al. [16] and Grimshaw et al. [3])
From: Preterm birth: the role of knowledge transfer and exchange
Four key approaches for linking research to action | Four clusters of activities | Five questions |
|---|---|---|
Helping to develop a culture in the target audience that values the use of research evidence; producing highly-relevant research evidence; transferring and exchanging knowledge in appropriate ways; and evaluating efforts for linking research to action. | ‘Push’ efforts: These may be appropriate when knowledge users (e.g. individuals and families) do not realise that they should consider a particular health-related message, or perhaps intentionally disregard the message; examples of ‘push’ efforts could be a strategy using mass media, billboards, advertising etc. ‘User pull’ efforts: Many kinds of stakeholders actively seek healthcare information about particular urgent issues; an example of a ‘user pull’ effort would be KTE strategies that package high quality, highly relevant research evidence for each type of audience, distilling key findings of a systematic review to one or two pages. ‘Exchange’ efforts: Exchange efforts establish common ground in developing and prioritising research questions, deciding how to answer these questions and sharing other kinds of insights; an example of an ‘exchange’ effort would be ‘deliberative dialogues’, shared discussions in support of a decision-making process between a university research unit and a community-based organisation. ‘Integrated’ efforts: KTE strategies using large online KTE ‘platforms’, essentially ‘one-stop shops’ for health research evidence, can include elements of each approach described above. | 1) What should be transferred? (i.e. what are the key messages?)2) To whom should research knowledge be transferred? (i.e. who is the audience?)3) By whom should research knowledge be transferred? (i.e. who is the messenger?)4) How should research knowledge be transferred? (i.e. with what communicative processes and infrastructure should the message be delivered?)5) With what effect should research knowledge be transferred and exchanged? (i.e. how may we evaluate the impact, including the impact on health equity, of KTE strategies? Have community voices really informed policy, practice and the research agenda?) |