Abstract
BackgroundPublic health professionals are increasingly expected to engage in evidence-informed decision making to inform practice and policy decisions. Evidence-informed decision making involves the use of research evidence along with expertise, existing public health resources, knowledge about community health issues, the local context and community, and the political climate. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools has identified a seven step process for evidence-informed decision making. Tools have been developed to support public health professionals as they work through each of these steps. This paper provides an overview of tools used in three Canadian public health departments involved in a study to develop capacity for evidence-informed decision making.MethodsAs part of a knowledge translation and exchange intervention, a Knowledge Broker worked with public health professionals to identify and apply tools for use with each of the steps of evidence-informed decision making. The Knowledge Broker maintained a reflective journal and interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of decision makers and public health professionals. This paper presents qualitative analysis of the perceived usefulness and usability of the tools.ResultsTools were used in the health departments to assist in: question identification and clarification; searching for the best available research evidence; assessing the research evidence for quality through critical appraisal; deciphering the ‘actionable message(s)’ from the research evidence; tailoring messages to the local context to ensure their relevance and suitability; deciding whether and planning how to implement research evidence in the local context; and evaluating the effectiveness of implementation efforts. Decision makers provided descriptions of how the tools were used within the health departments and made suggestions for improvement. Overall, the tools were perceived as valuable for advancing and sustaining evidence-informed decision making.ConclusionTools are available to support the process of evidence-informed decision making among public health professionals. The usability and usefulness of these tools for advancing and sustaining evidence-informed decision making are discussed, including recommendations for the tools’ application in other public health settings beyond this study. Knowledge and awareness of these tools may assist other health professionals in their efforts to implement evidence-informed practice.
Highlights
Public health professionals are increasingly expected to engage in evidence-informed decision making to inform practice and policy decisions
The purpose of this paper is to report on the use of tools used by three Canadian public health departments in a study assessing the effectiveness of a Knowledge Broker (KB)-delivered knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) intervention
Study design We partnered with three Ontario public health departments on a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) ‘Partnerships for Health System Improvement’ (PHSI) grant (FRN 101867) to evaluate the effectiveness of KTE interventions to enhance capacity for and facilitate organizational contexts conducive to evidence-informed decision making (EIDM)
Summary
Public health professionals are increasingly expected to engage in evidence-informed decision making to inform practice and policy decisions. Incorporating research evidence in program planning and policy decision making supports the provision of high-quality, effective, and efficient health services This further ensures a more responsible use of the financial and human resource investments that are made in healthcare and in public health [1,2,3]. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) has developed a seven step process to guide public health professionals through EIDM This process includes: 1) defining the question, problem or issue; 2) searching for the best available research evidence; 3) assessing the quality of the evidence; 4) deciphering the ‘actionable message(s)’ from the evidence; 5) tailoring messages to the local context to ensure their relevance and suitability; 6) deciding whether and planning how to implement the evidence in the local context; and 7) evaluating the effectiveness of implementation efforts [13]
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