Abstract
Stakeholder input into the decision-making process when developing public health programs and policies is crucial. This article presents an innovative approach, involving online participation with a wide group of stakeholders located in different geographic locations for policy consensus. The results of the project have been used to propose assumptions regarding a strategy for preventing blood-borne diseases in Poland. The research was conducted iteratively using a multi-stage qualitative methodology to explore risk assessment involving blood-borne infections. The final output of the study is a list of key problems/challenges and potential solutions associated with medical and nonmedical services that are connected to the breakage of tissue continuity. Qualitative research is rare in risk assessment, as priority is generally given to statistical data and endpoints. In addition to policy preparation for blood-borne illnesses, the methodology employed in the study can also be used to successfully explore other areas of public health.
Highlights
The urgent need to bridge the gap between science, practice, and policy in public health has accelerated in recent years [1,2,3,4,5]
Stage 1: Discussions from this stage led to the identification of the following risk factors for blood-borne infection (BBI) by the participating epidemiologists—namely, HBC, HCV, and HIV
It was identified that nurses were more at risk of exposure to BBI-related adverse events, and that most of these events were caused by self-injuries, such as injections and cleaning of devices
Summary
The urgent need to bridge the gap between science, practice, and policy in public health has accelerated in recent years [1,2,3,4,5]. An additional barrier to a conscious approach to policy-related decision-making in the field of healthcare is that the effects of actions are shifted in time, whereas cost considerations exist at very early, though critical, stages, such as preliminary analyses of information and strategy preparation. Convincing arguments, informed by theory and practice on the part of researchers, are needed in order to persuade legislators to make decisions—the effects of which are, at times, visible only after their tenure ends. Innovative program proposal requires a thorough analysis of each of the stages of its development, such that the obtained portrayal of a problem and the proposed process of change can be implemented
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