Use Of Research In Decision Research Articles

Developing a model for health determinants research within local government: lessons from a large, urban local authority.

Background: Socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions strongly affect health across the life course. Local government plays a key role in influencing these wider determinants of health and levels of inequality within their communities. However, they lack the research infrastructure and culture that would enable them to develop an evidence-based approach to tackling the complex drivers of those conditions. Methods: We undertook a scoping project using some research methods and some descriptive summaries to explore the potential for, and what would be needed to develop a local authority research system for the City of Bradford, UK. This included identifying the current research landscape and any barriers and enablers to research activity within the local authority using qualitative individual and focus group interviews, a rapid review of existing local research system models, scoping and description of the use of evidence in decision making and training opportunities and existing support for local government research. Results: We identified four key themes important to developing and sustaining a research system: leadership, resource and capacity, culture, partnerships. Some use of research in decision making was evident but research training opportunities within the local authority were limited. Health research funders are slowly adapting to the local government environment, but this remains limited and more work is needed to shift the centre of gravity towards public health, local government and the community more generally. Conclusions: We propose a model for a local authority research system that can guide the development of an exemplar whole system research framework that includes research infrastructure, data sharing, research training and skills, and co-production with local partners, to choose, use, generate, and deliver research in local government.

Developing a model for health determinants research within local government: lessons from a large, urban local authority

Background: Socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions strongly affect health across the life course. Local government plays a key role in influencing these wider determinants of health and levels of inequality within their communities. However, they lack the research infrastructure and culture that would enable them to develop an evidence-based approach to tackling the complex drivers of those conditions. Methods: We undertook a scoping project using some research methods and some descriptive summaries to explore the potential for, and what would be needed to develop a local authority research system for the City of Bradford, UK. This included identifying the current research landscape and any barriers and enablers to research activity within the local authority using qualitative individual and focus group interviews, a rapid review of existing local research system models, scoping and description of the use of evidence in decision making and training opportunities and existing support for local government research. Results: We identified four key themes important to developing and sustaining a research system: leadership, resource and capacity, culture, partnerships. Some use of research in decision making was evident but research training opportunities within the local authority were limited. Health research funders are slowly adapting to the local government environment, but this remains limited and more work is needed to shift the centre of gravity towards public health, local government and the community more generally. Conclusions: We propose a model for a local authority research system that can guide the development of an exemplar whole system research framework that includes research infrastructure, data sharing, research training and skills, and co-production with local partners, to choose, use, generate, and deliver research in local government.

Developing a model for health determinants research within local government: lessons from a large, urban local authority

Background: Socio-economic, cultural and environmental conditions strongly affect health across the life course. Local government plays a key role in influencing these wider determinants of health and levels of inequality within their communities. However, they lack the research infrastructure and culture that would enable them to develop an evidence-based approach to tackling the complex drivers of those conditions. Methods: We undertook a scoping project to explore the potential for, and what would be needed to develop a local authority research system for the City of Bradford, UK. This included identifying the current research landscape and any barriers and enablers to research activity within the local authority using qualitative individual and focus group interviews, a rapid review of existing local research system models, scoping of the use of evidence in decision making and training opportunities and existing support for local government research. Results: We identified four key themes important to developing and sustaining a research system: leadership, resource and capacity, culture, partnerships. Some use of research in decision making was evident but research training opportunities within the local authority were limited. Health research funders are slowly adapting to the local government environment, but this remains limited and more work is needed to shift the centre of gravity towards public health, local government and the community more generally. Conclusions: We propose a model for a local authority research system that can guide the development of an exemplar whole system research framework that includes research infrastructure, data sharing, research training and skills, and co-production with local partners, to choose, use, generate, and deliver research in local government.

Practitioners’ Use of Research in Decision Making about Organized Out-of-School Time Programs Serving Adolescents

Research shows that adolescent participation in organized out-of-school time (OST) programs (e.g., after-school programs) is linked to positive developmental outcomes. However, whether OST program practitioners use this research to inform their decision making is unclear. Therefore, a scienceto- practice gap may exist in OST programs. To assess the use of research, 21 OST program directors from the United States were interviewed. Directors identified the components of their programs (i.e., goals and activities) and rationales for choosing each component. Direct questions about the use of research in making program decisions were asked. Findings revealed that use of empirical research was seldom mentioned. Practitioners referred to research in other terms including attending trainings, online searches, and learning from other programs. This suggests there is a science-to-practice gap in OST programs, but also points to several ways that researcher-practitioner partnerships may narrow the gap. Keywords: out-of-school time, after-school programs, adolescence, decision making, use of research-----Bibliography: Mahoney, Joseph L.: Practitioners’ Use of Research in Decision Making about Organized Out-of-School Time Programs Serving Adolescents, IJREE, Vol. 4, Issue 2-2016, pp. 34-55. https://doi.org/10.3224/ijree.v4i2.25780

The use of university research in planning decision making in Jordanian municipalities

This paper explores the use of university generated research data by Jordanian planning authorities in their decision making processes and identifies factors affecting the use of that research. A mixed method approach employing a questionnaire survey and face-to face in-depth interviews was used for data collection. All ninety three Jordanian planning municipalities were targeted for this study. Findings reveal that the use of research is quite low. Factors affecting the use of research in decision making processes range from legal, administrative, and technological issues to financial, social and people related challenges. A series of recommendations are made that could address these challenges including reassessing the current capacity of municipalities, the establishment of research centers, the amendment of municipalities' laws, human resource development and the encouragement of joint research.

Flying (Partially) Blind: School Leaders' Use of Research in Decision Making

EDUCATORS are frequently criticized for not using to improve schooling. Critics assert that educators seem research averse and point out that business, the military, and even such public sector organizations the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Postal Service have applied research-based best practices to improve organizational performance. The stubborn persistence of the achievement gap between whites and minorities and the failure of many education reforms to improve schooling give the appearance that school leaders are simply resistant to organizational learning. Are schools, currently operated, learning organizations? At first blush, the answer is obvious: of course they are; that's what they are supposed to do. Well, yes, that is at least partially true; students learn, albeit unevenly, but it is much less clear whether adults in schools, particularly teachers and school leaders, also learn (and whether what they learn are research-based best practices or survival skills). It is assumed that educational leaders use in making decisions about school improvement and that they don't reinvent the wheel every time they make a decision about curricula or programs. Denis Doyle asserts that this way of operating is so obvious and commonsensical it is hard to imagine why it is not the norm. Is there any other way to make decisions? Unhappily, the answer is yes. (1) For example, a scathing report on problems in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest district, sharply criticized school officials for their failure to implement the recommendations of evaluations of programs and system performance and their failure to replicate successful programs throughout the district. Unfortunately, Los Angeles may not be atypical. Surprisingly little exists to the extent to which educators use in decision making. Undoubtedly, some school leaders use research, and many incorporate it into their professional practice. (2) In interviews with superintendents, Gary Huang and his colleagues found that nearly all of them reported that they reports of studies and program evaluations at least occasionally. (3) Unfortunately, with some exceptions, instances of how has informed decision making or improved schooling are relatively rare. (4) This raises the question: Why hasn't been used more often by school leaders to improve educational practice? BARRIERS TO USING RESEARCH IN EDUCATION Several barriers--some institutional and structural, others personal--have impeded the use of in educational decision making. First, the community rarely reaches consensus about which education policies work best and rarely conducts on the practical problems faced by school leaders. (5) School leaders are thus faced with a confounding mass of often conflicting research. A veteran superintendent remarked, Honestly, nobody really knows what's going on in the area .... Today, you read reports about this and this, next day you read reports about just the opposite. There is no consistency. That's frustrating. (6) This situation makes it difficult for superintendents and principals to learn and leads to confusion and mistrust among educators. Learning is difficult, if not impossible, when the lessons themselves are unclear. Educational advocacy.Many school leaders view educational with skepticism, particularly when they are constantly lobbied by companies promising the latest magic bullet that will eliminate the achievement gap (at least according to the company's own research). Superintendents and principals are busy enough without having to sift through spin and marketing hype. This leads some school leaders to mistrust statistics, research, and slick marketing gimmicks, viewing them as blatant attempts to distort or manipulate an audience. (7) Others distrust because it is frequently used to promote political agendas. …

A televised, web-based randomised trial of an herbal remedy (valerian) for insomnia.

BackgroundThis trial was conducted as part of a project that aims to enhance public understanding and use of research in decisions about healthcare by enabling viewers to participate in research and to follow the process, through television reports and on the web. Valerian is an herbal over-the-counter drug that is widely used for insomnia. Systematic reviews have found inconsistent and inconclusive results about its effects.MethodsParticipants were recruited through a weekly nationally televised health program in Norway. Enrolment and data collection were over the Internet. 405 participants who were 18 to 75 years old and had insomnia completed a two week diary-keeping run-in period without treatment and were randomised and mailed valerian or placebo tablets for two weeks. All participants and investigators were blind to treatment until after the analysis was completed.FindingsFor the primary outcome of a minimally important improvement in self-reported sleep quality (≥0.5 units on a 7 point scale), the difference between the valerian group (29%) and the placebo group (21%) was not statistically significant (difference 7.5%; 95% CI-0.9 to 15.9; p = 0.08). On the global self-assessment question at the end of the treatment period 5.5% (95% CI 0.2 to 10.8) more participants in the valerian group perceived their sleep as better or much better (p = 0.04). There were similar trends favouring the valerian group for night awakenings (difference = 6.0%, 95% CI-0.5 to 12.5) and sleep duration (difference = 7.5%, 95% CI-1.0 to 16.1). There were no serious adverse events and no important or statistically significant differences in minor adverse events.InterpretationBased on this and previous studies, valerian appears to be safe, but with modest beneficial effects at most on insomnia compared to placebo. The combined use of television and the Internet in randomised trials offers opportunities to answer questions about the effects of health care interventions and to improve public understanding and use of randomised trials.Trial RegistrationControlled-Trials.com ISRCTN72748991

Advocating evidence-based health promotion: reflections and a way forward

In the past few years, significant advances have been made in health promotion to generate readily accessible systematic reviews of evidence on the effectiveness of interventions and programs. The influence of this evidence on policy and practice has, however, been unpredictable, and proponents of evidence-based practice are identifying ways to increase the use of research in decisions about health promotion interventions. This paper examines the following questions: (i) is the evidence that is available on the effectiveness of interventions actually relevant and useful to current policy and practice contexts?; and (ii) what is the researcher's or reviewer's role in interpreting the available evidence and advocating action based on their interpretations? The paper concludes by proposing an 'evidence-agenda map' to assist advocates of evidence-based policy and practice to identify the health promotion goals they seek to influence against the required and available evidence.

Evaluation informed management and clinical governance

High or low quality is as much a result of how care systems are organised as it is a result of individual clinicians’ performance. Failure to introduce new care organisation or quality methods which research shows to be effective is as serious an omission as failing to act on poor clinical performance. Managers make many decisions about policies and organisation which affect the quality of care, but they rarely use evaluation research in making these decisions. Such research is difficult to find, produced using many different types of methods which are difficult for non‐experts to assess, often of poor quality, and difficult to translate to the local setting. However, managers can develop an evaluation informed practice, and make greater use of evaluation research in decisions with high cost or risk implications. The paper explains why the model of evidence‐based medicine is not appropriate, proposes instead a practical four‐step approach, and shows how managers can use evaluation in everyday practice.

What do decision models tell us about information use?

This paper develops hypotheses about the implications of different types of decision for the utilization of different types of systematically produced information: data, research, and analysis. The engineering and enlightenment models found in the knowledge utilization literature prove inadequate for this purpose. We turn to three decision models—routine, incremental, and fundamental–and determine their implied demands for information. We also examine how information might be used in scanning procedures in anticipation of decision regime shifts. The results suggest that patterns of information should differ markedly in each decision context and indicate that there may be an inherent bias against the use of research in decision.