Abstract
BackgroundWhile population aging challenges Arab governments to ensure well-being in old age, knowledge translation is gaining support worldwide in evidence-based policymaking and service provision. This study examines the status of existing knowledge translation efforts of aging-related research in Arab countries and evaluates the additional role that institutional arrangements (such as ministry departments, national committees, etc.) play in the relationship between knowledge creation and social and health policies and programs.MethodsData were triangulated from two regional surveys and a supplementary desk review of academic, civil society, ministry, and UN documents. Using a set of indicators, standardized summative indices (out of 100) were generated for five constructs, namely knowledge creation, institutional arrangements, knowledge translation, and health and social policies and programs. Correlations were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation (rs), and bootstrap multiple linear regression models were used.ResultsArab countries scored highest on the institutional arrangements index (median = 69.5), followed by the knowledge creation index (median = 45.9), and lowest on the knowledge translation index (median = 30.2). Both institutional arrangements and knowledge creation significantly correlated with social and health policies and programs. However, when adjusted for knowledge translation, only institutional arrangements retained a significant association with both outcomes (rs = 0.63, p value =0.009 and rs = 0.69, p value =0.01, respectively). Adjusting for institutional arrangements and knowledge creation, the association of knowledge translation with social and health policies and programs was attenuated and non-significant (rs = 0.08, p value =0.671 and rs = 0.12, p value =0.634, respectively).ConclusionsThere are two key messages from this study. Firstly, institutional arrangements play a central role in aging social and health policy and program development in the Arab region. Secondly, knowledge translation paradigms in Arab countries may be deficient in factors pertinent for promoting evidence-based decision-making and policy-relevant research. These findings call for the need of strengthening institutional arrangements on aging and for promoting knowledge production that meets policy-relevant priorities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13012-015-0360-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
While population aging challenges Arab governments to ensure well-being in old age, knowledge translation is gaining support worldwide in evidence-based policymaking and service provision
Using data from a regional mapping survey conducted in 16 Arab countries, this study aims to examine the status of existing knowledge translation efforts in the field of aging and evaluates how institutional arrangements and knowledge creation interrelate in the process of knowledge translation to inform evidence-based agingrelated social and health policies and programs in the Arab region
While the relationships between the constructs are envisioned as non-linear and multidirectional rather than causal, we examine in this study the role of institutional arrangements (IA) and knowledge creation (KC) as enabling factors that influence Social policies and programs (SP) and Health policies and programs (HP) ; while Knowledge translation (KT) is treated as a mediating variable in the relationship between the enabling factors (IA and KC) and the outcomes (SP and HP)
Summary
While population aging challenges Arab governments to ensure well-being in old age, knowledge translation is gaining support worldwide in evidence-based policymaking and service provision. Arab countries are heterogeneous in their natural resources, economic systems, political regimes, and national priorities which impact responses to population aging [5] This situation is exemplified in the existing disparities in retirement benefits across Arab countries, where benefits range from generous pension schemes in high-income and some middle-income countries (e.g., Kuwait and Tunisia) to low and basic benefits in most others [6]. Such economic disparities, among other sociopolitical inequities, have contributed towards and been sharpened by the political transformations that have spread across a number of Arab countries since 2010 (in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, and Yemen) as well as by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq, Palestine, Somalia, and the Sudan [7]. It is imperative that local research aligns with national sociopolitical priorities and policies and service delivery be based on rigorous context-specific research evidence
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
