Articles

Integrated knowledge translation in population health intervention research: a case study of implementation and outcomes from a school-based project

Integrated knowledge translation (IKT) is encouraged in population health intervention research (PHIR) to ensure the co-production of policy-relevant research, yet there is little published literature that rep...

Authors: Jessie-Lee D. McIsaac, Tarra L. Penney, Kate E. Storey, Lori Sigfridson, Jane Cunningham, Stefan Kuhle and Sara F. L. Kirk

Implementing a protocol for a research impact assessment of the Centre for Research Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Brain Recovery

There is growing recognition that the wider benefits of research (economic, social and health impacts) should be assessed and valued alongside traditional research performance metrics such as peer-reviewed pap...

Authors: Shanthi Ramanathan, Penny Reeves, Simon Deeming, Julie Bernhardt, Michael Nilsson, Dominique A. Cadilhac, Frederick Rohan Walker, Leeanne Carey, Sandy Middleton, Elizabeth Lynch and Andrew Searles

A novel approach to sharing all available information from funded health research: the NIHR Journals Library

Relevant information on health research must be made publicly available in an accurate, timely and accessible manner if evidence is to inform practice and benefit patient care. Failure to publish research info...

Authors: David Wright, Elaine Williams, Colin Bryce, Andrée le May, Ken Stein, Ruairidh Milne and Tom Walley

The Palestinian health research system: who orchestrates the system, how and based on what? A qualitative assessment

In 2011, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region committee launched a strategy for scaling up research in the region to address the countries’ health needs through formulating and analysing the National Health Re...

Authors: Mohammed AlKhaldi, Abdulsalam Alkaiyat, Yehia Abed, Constanze Pfeiffer, Rana Halaseh, Ruba Salah, Manar Idries, Said Abueida, Ibrahim Idries, Ibrahim Jeries, Hamza Meghari, Ali Shaar, Marcel Tanner and Saleem Haj-Yahia

National stakeholders’ perceptions of the processes that inform the development of national clinical practice guidelines for primary healthcare in South Africa

There is increased international focus on improving the rigour of clinical practice guideline (CPG) development practices. However, few empirical studies on CPG development have been conducted in low- and midd...

Authors: Tamara Kredo, Sara Cooper, Amber Abrams, Karen Daniels, Jimmy Volmink and Salla Atkins

Embedded health service development and research: why and how to do it (a ten-stage guide)

In a world of changing disease burdens, poor quality care and constrained health budgets, finding effective approaches to developing and implementing evidence-based health services is crucial. Much has been pu...

Authors: John Walley, Mohammad Amir Khan, Sophie Witter, Rumana Haque, James Newell and Xiaolin Wei

Assessing policy-makers’, academics’ and experts’ satisfaction with the performance of the Palestinian health research system: a qualitative study

There is a growing demand within international health agencies to ensure health research systems (HRSs) are strengthened and well-functioning to support healthcare systems (HCSs). Understanding HRS performance...

Authors: Mohammed AlKhaldi, Yehia Abed, Constanze Pfeiffer, Saleem Haj-Yahia, Abdulsalam Alkaiyat and Marcel Tanner

Factors affecting engagement between academic faculty and decision-makers: learnings and priorities for a school of public health

Schools of public health (SPHs) are increasingly being recognised as important contributors of human, social and intellectual capital relevant to health policy and decision-making. Few studies within the imple...

Authors: Nasreen S. Jessani, Sameer M. Siddiqi, Carly Babcock, Melissa Davey-Rothwell, Shirley Ho and David R. Holtgrave

How is the use of research evidence in health policy perceived? A comparison between the reporting of researchers and policy-makers

The use of health policy and systems research (HPSR) to inform health policy-making is an international challenge. Incorporating HPSR into decision-making primarily involves two groups, namely researchers (kno...

Authors: Moriah E. Ellen, John N. Lavis, Einav Horowitz and Robin Berglas

Development of rapid guidelines: 3. GIN-McMaster Guideline Development Checklist extension for rapid recommendations

Practice guidelines require a substantial investment of resources and time, often taking between 1 and 3 years from conceptualisation to publication. However, urgent situations require the development of recom...

Authors: Rebecca L. Morgan, Ivan Florez, Maicon Falavigna, Sergio Kowalski, Elie A. Akl, Kristina A. Thayer, Andrew Rooney and Holger J. Schünemann

Development of rapid guidelines: 2. A qualitative study with WHO guideline developers

Situations such as public health emergencies and outbreaks necessitate the development and publication of high-quality recommendations within a condensed timeframe. For example, WHO has produced examples of an...

Authors: Ivan D. Florez, Rebecca L. Morgan, Maicon Falavigna, Sérgio C. Kowalski, Yuan Zhang, Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, Nancy Santesso, Wojtek Wiercioch and Holger J. Schünemann

Development of rapid guidelines: 1. Systematic survey of current practices and methods

Guidelines in the healthcare field generally should contain evidence-based recommendations to inform healthcare decisions. Guidelines often require 2 years or more to develop, but certain circumstances necessi...

Authors: Sergio C. Kowalski, Rebecca L. Morgan, Maicon Falavigna, Iván D. Florez, Itziar Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta, Wojtek Wiercioch, Yuan Zhang, Faria Sakhia, Liudmila Ivanova, Nancy Santesso and Holger J. Schünemann

How to engage stakeholders in research: design principles to support improvement

Closing the gap between research production and research use is a key challenge for the health research system. Stakeholder engagement is being increasingly promoted across the board by health research funding...

Authors: Annette Boaz, Stephen Hanney, Robert Borst, Alison O’Shea and Maarten Kok

Facilitating evidence uptake: development and user testing of a systematic review summary format to inform public health decision-making in German-speaking countries

Systematic reviews are an important source of evidence for public health decision-making, but length and technical jargon tend to hinder their use. In non-English speaking countries, inaccessibility of informa...

Authors: Laura K. Busert, Margot Mütsch, Christina Kien, Aline Flatz, Ursula Griebler, Manfred Wildner, Jan M. Stratil and Eva A. Rehfuess

Gendered health systems: evidence from low- and middle-income countries

Gender is often neglected in health systems, yet health systems are not gender neutral. Within health systems research, gender analysis seeks to understand how gender power relations create inequities in acces...

Authors: Rosemary Morgan, Richard Mangwi Ayiasi, Debjani Barman, Stephen Buzuzi, Charles Ssemugabo, Nkoli Ezumah, Asha S. George, Kate Hawkins, Xiaoning Hao, Rebecca King, Tianyang Liu, Sassy Molyneux, Kelly W. Muraya, David Musoke, Tumaini Nyamhanga, Bandeth Ros…

Priority-setting in health research in Iran: a qualitative study on barriers and facilitators

Priority-setting is a complicated and time-consuming process; however, if appropriately conducted, it could efficiently divert resources to the most important studies. A considerable body of evidence indicates...

Authors: Abbas Badakhshan, Mohammad Arab, Arash Rashidian, Neda Mehrdad and Kazem Zendehdel

Rapid guidelines – timely and important guidance needed for setting standards and best practices

Authors: Tikki Pang and Gianna Gayle Herrera Amul

Does citation matter? Research citation in policy documents as an indicator of research impact – an Australian obesity policy case-study

Citation of research in policy documents has been suggested as an indicator of the potential longer-term impacts of research. We investigated the use of research citations in childhood obesity prevention polic...

Authors: Robyn Newson, Lucie Rychetnik, Lesley King, Andrew Milat and Adrian Bauman

Looking both ways: a review of methods for assessing research impacts on policy and the policy utilisation of research

Measuring the policy and practice impacts of research is becoming increasingly important. Policy impacts can be measured from two directions – tracing forward from research and tracing backwards from a policy ...

Authors: Robyn Newson, Lesley King, Lucie Rychetnik, Andrew Milat and Adrian Bauman

Priority-setting in public health research funding organisations: an exploratory qualitative study among five high-profile funders

Priority-driven funding streams for population and public health are an important part of the health research landscape and contribute to orienting future scholarship in the field. While research priorities ar...

Authors: Yuri Cartier, Maria I. Creatore, Steven J. Hoffman and Louise Potvin

A call for action to establish a research agenda for building a future health workforce in Europe

The importance of a sustainable health workforce is increasingly recognised. However, the building of a future health workforce that is responsive to diverse population needs and demographic and economic chang...

Authors: Ellen Kuhlmann, Ronald Batenburg, Matthias Wismar, Gilles Dussault, Claudia B. Maier, Irene A. Glinos, Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, Christine Bond, Viola Burau, Tiago Correia, Peter P. Groenewegen, Johan Hansen, David J. Hunter, Usman Khan, Hans H. Kluge, Marieke Kroezen…

Validity and usability testing of a health systems guidance appraisal tool, the AGREE-HS

Health systems guidance (HSG) provides recommendations to address health systems challenges. No tools exist to inform HSG developers and users about the components of high quality HSG and to differentiate betw...

Authors: Melissa C. Brouwers, Denis Ako-Arrey, Karen Spithoff, Marija Vukmirovic, Ivan D. Florez, John N. Lavis, Francoise Cluzeau, Govin Permanand, Xavier Bosch-Capblanch and Yaolong Chen

Qualitative assessment of opportunities and challenges to improve evidence-informed health policy-making in Hungary – an EVIPNet situation analysis pilot

In evidence-informed policy-making (EIP), major knowledge gaps remain in understanding the context and possibilities for institutionalisation of knowledge translation. In 2014, the WHO Evidence-informed Policy...

Authors: Péter Mihalicza, Mark Leys, Ilona Borbás, Szabolcs Szigeti, Olivia Biermann and Tanja Kuchenmüller

Understanding the concept and importance of the health research system in Palestine: a qualitative study

The importance of a health research system (HRS), namely an instrument for developing and enabling health systems, is increasing, particularly in developing countries. Assessing the perceptions of system perfo...

Authors: Mohammed AlKhaldi, Yehia Abed, Constanze Pfeiffer, Saleem Haj-Yahia, Abdulsalam Alkaiyat and Marcel Tanner

Addressing overuse of health services in health systems: a critical interpretive synthesis

Health systems are increasingly focusing on the issue of ‘overuse’ of health services and how to address it. We developed a framework focused on (1) the rationale and context for health systems prioritising ad...

Authors: Moriah E. Ellen, Michael G. Wilson, Marcela Vélez, Ruth Shach, John N. Lavis, Jeremy M. Grimshaw and Kaelan A. Moat

Development of measurable indicators to enhance public health evidence-informed policy-making

Ensuring health policies are informed by evidence still remains a challenge despite efforts devoted to this aim. Several tools and approaches aimed at fostering evidence-informed policy-making (EIPM) have been...

Authors: Valentina Tudisca, Adriana Valente, Tommaso Castellani, Timo Stahl, Petru Sandu, Diana Dulf, Hilde Spitters, Ien Van de Goor, Christina Radl-Karimi, Mohamed Ahmed Syed, Natasa Loncarevic, Cathrine Juel Lau, Susan Roelofs, Maja Bertram, Nancy Edwards and Arja R. Aro

Collaborative and partnership research for improvement of health and social services: researcher’s experiences from 20 projects

Getting research into policy and practice in healthcare is a recognised, world-wide concern. As an attempt to bridge the gap between research and practice, research funders are requesting more interdisciplinar...

Authors: M. E. Nyström, J. Karltun, C. Keller and B. Andersson Gäre

The GRADE Evidence to Decision (EtD) framework for health system and public health decisions

To describe a framework for people making and using evidence-informed health system and public health recommendations and decisions.

Authors: Jenny Moberg, Andrew D. Oxman, Sarah Rosenbaum, Holger J. Schünemann, Gordon Guyatt, Signe Flottorp, Claire Glenton, Simon Lewin, Angela Morelli, Gabriel Rada and Pablo Alonso-Coello

Translating research into action: an international study of the role of research funders

It is widely accepted that research can lead to improved health outcomes. However, translating research into meaningful impacts in peoples’ lives requires actions that stretch well beyond those traditionally a...

Authors: Robert K. D. McLean, Ian D. Graham, Jacqueline M. Tetroe and Jimmy A. Volmink

The evolution of the field of Health Policy and Systems Research and outstanding challenges

We provide a historical analysis of the evolution of the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR) since 1996. In the mid-1990s, three main challenges affected HPSR, namely (1) fragmentation and lack ...

Authors: Sara Bennett, Julio Frenk and Anne Mills

Dissemination and use of WHO family planning guidance and tools: a qualitative assessment

As countries continue to improve their family planning (FP) programmes, they may draw on WHO’s evidence-based FP guidance and tools (i.e. materials) that support the provision of quality FP services.

Authors: Joan Marie Kraft, Titilope Oduyebo, Tara C. Jatlaoui, Kathryn M. Curtis, Maura K. Whiteman, Lauren B. Zapata and Mary Eluned Gaffield

The AGING Initiative experience: a call for sustained support for team science networks

Team science, defined as collaborative research efforts that leverage the expertise of diverse disciplines, is recognised as a critical means to address complex healthcare challenges, but the practical impleme...

Authors: Tullika Garg, Kathryn Anzuoni, Valentina Landyn, Alexandra Hajduk, Stephen Waring, Leah R. Hanson and Heather E. Whitson

Challenges to decision-making processes in the national HTA agency in Brazil: operational procedures, evidence use and recommendations

The quality of the evidence used in health technology assessment (HTA) agency reports has been considered essential for decision-making processes and their legitimacy. In Brazil, CONITEC is the agency responsi...

Authors: Tania Yuka Yuba, Hillegonda Maria Dutilh Novaes and Patrícia Coelho de Soárez

Measuring research impact: a large cancer research funding programme in Australia

Measuring research impact is of critical interest to philanthropic and government funding agencies interested in ensuring that the research they fund is both scientifically excellent and has meaningful impact ...

Authors: Jacqueline A. Bowden, Nicole Sargent, Steve Wesselingh, Lincoln Size, Claire Donovan and Caroline L. Miller

Changing roles of universities in the era of SDGs: rising up to the global challenge through institutionalising partnerships with governments and communities

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covers a wide range of interrelated goals, including poverty eradication and economic growth, social inclusion, environmental sustainability and peace for all people...

Authors: Fadi El-Jardali, Nour Ataya and Racha Fadlallah

How can the use of data within the immunisation programme be increased in order to improve data quality and ensure greater accountability in the health system? A protocol for implementation science study

Immunisation remains one of the most important and cost-effective interventions to reduce vaccine-preventable child morbidity, disability and mortality. Health programmes like the Expanded Program of Immunizat...

Authors: Binyam Tilahun, Alemayehu Teklu, Arielle Mancuso, Zeleke Abebaw, Kassahun Dessie and Desalegn Zegeye

The impact of orthopaedic research evidence on health financing in Australia

In Australia, approval by the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) is an important step in the implementation of new health technologies. The MSAC considers health technology assessments (HTA) when submi...

Authors: Martin Hua, Daniel Myers and Lachlan Host

Use of the self-organising map network (SOMNet) as a decision support system for regional mental health planning

Decision-making in mental health systems should be supported by the evidence-informed knowledge transfer of data. Since mental health systems are inherently complex, involving interactions between its structur...

Authors: Younjin Chung, Luis Salvador-Carulla, José A. Salinas-Pérez, Jose J. Uriarte-Uriarte, Alvaro Iruin-Sanz and Carlos R. García-Alonso

Problems maintaining collaborative approaches with excluded populations in a randomised control trial: lessons learned implementing Housing First in France

In 2006, a local collective combating homelessness set up an ‘experimental squat’ in an abandoned building in Marseille, France’s second largest city. They envisioned the squat as an alternative to conventiona...

Authors: Pauline Rhenter, Aurélie Tinland, Julien Grard, Christian Laval, Jean Mantovani, Delphine Moreau, Benjamin Vidaud, Tim Greacen, Pascal Auquier and Vincent Girard

Elements for harnessing participatory action research to strengthen health managers’ capacity: a critical interpretative synthesis

Health managers play a key role in ensuring that health services are responsive to the needs of the population. Participatory action research (PAR) is one of the approaches that have been used to strengthen ma...

Authors: Moses Tetui, Joseph Mumba Zulu, Anna-Karin Hurtig, Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho, Suzanne N. Kiwanuka and Anna-Britt Coe

Generating evidence for health policy in challenging settings: lessons learned from four prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV implementation research studies in Nigeria

Implementation research (IR) facilitates health systems strengthening and optimal patient outcomes by generating evidence for scale-up of efficacious strategies in context. Thus, difficulties in generating IR ...

Authors: Nadia A. Sam-Agudu, Muktar H. Aliyu, Olusegun A. Adeyemi, Frank Oronsaye, Bolanle Oyeledun, Amaka G. Ogidi and Echezona E. Ezeanolue

What can we learn from interventions that aim to increase policy-makers’ capacity to use research? A realist scoping review

Health policy-making can benefit from more effective use of research. In many policy settings there is scope to increase capacity for using research individually and organisationally, but little is known about...

Authors: Abby Haynes, Samantha J. Rowbotham, Sally Redman, Sue Brennan, Anna Williamson and Gabriel Moore

An evaluation of South Africa’s public–private partnership for the localisation of vaccine research, manufacture and distribution

Public–private partnerships (PPPs), widely used as a means of leveraging the skills, expertise and resources of the private sector to mutual advantage, were similarly adopted by South Africa to support public ...

Authors: David R. Walwyn and Adolph T. Nkolele

Frameworks for embedding a research culture in allied health practice: a rapid review

Although allied health clinicians play a key role in the provision of healthcare, embedding a culture of research within public and private health systems remains a challenge. In this rapid review we criticall...

Authors: Susan C. Slade, Kathleen Philip and Meg E. Morris

Measuring research impact in medical research institutes: a qualitative study of the attitudes and opinions of Australian medical research institutes towards research impact assessment frameworks

The question of how to measure, assess and optimise the returns from investment in health and medical research (HMR) is a highly policy-relevant issue. Research Impact Assessment Frameworks (RIAFs) provide a c...

Authors: Simon Deeming, Penny Reeves, Shanthi Ramanathan, John Attia, Michael Nilsson and Andrew Searles

A comparative evaluation of PDQ-Evidence

A strategy for minimising the time and obstacles to accessing systematic reviews of health system evidence is to collect them in a freely available database and make them easy to find through a simple ‘Google-...

Authors: Marit Johansen, Gabriel Rada, Sarah Rosenbaum, Elizabeth Paulsen, Nkengafac Villyen Motaze, Newton Opiyo, Charles S. Wiysonge, Yunpeng Ding, Fidele K. Mukinda and Andrew D. Oxman

The implementation of Health in All Policies initiatives: a systems framework for government action

There has been a renewed interest in broadening the research agenda in health promotion to include action on the structural determinants of health, including a focus on the implementation of Health in All Poli...

Authors: Ketan Shankardass, Carles Muntaner, Lauri Kokkinen, Faraz Vahid Shahidi, Alix Freiler, Goldameir Oneka, Ahmed M. Bayoumi and Patricia O’Campo

A comparison between health research output and burden of disease in Arab countries: evidence from Palestine

Research conducted on conditions responsible for the greatest disease burden should be given the highest priority, particularly in resource-limited settings. The present study aimed to assess the research outp...

Authors: Loai Albarqouni, Khamis Elessi and Niveen M. E. Abu-Rmeileh

Correction to: Patient engagement in Canada: a scoping review of the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of patient engagement in health research

It has been highlighted that the original manuscript [1] contains a typesetting error in the surname of Virginia Vandall-Walker. This was incorrectly captured as Virgnia Vandall-Walker in the original manuscri...

Authors: Elizabeth Manafo, Lisa Petermann, Ping Mason-Lai and Virginia Vandall-Walker

The potential role of cost-utility analysis in the decision to implement major system change in acute stroke services in metropolitan areas in England

The economic implications of major system change are an important component of the decision to implement health service reconfigurations. Little is known about how best to report the results of economic evalua...

Authors: Rachael M. Hunter, Naomi J. Fulop, Ruth J. Boaden, Christopher McKevitt, Catherine Perry, Angus I. G. Ramsay, Anthony G. Rudd, Simon J. Turner, Pippa J. Tyrrell, Charles D. A. Wolfe and Stephen Morris