Exploring the Evidence-Practice Gap: A Workshop Report on Mixed and Participatory Training for HIV Prevention in Southern Africa

Stewart, Ruth; Wiggins, Meg; Thomas, James; Oliver, Sandy; Brunton, Ginny; Ellison, George T. H.

doi:10.1080/13576280500148536

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Another frequently recommended facilitator is the inclusion of key individuals, either decision makers or opinion leaders, in the research planning and design stages (DeRoeck 2004; Lomas 2000b; Ross et al 2003; Vingilis et al 2003; Whitehead et al 2004; Willison and MacLeod 1999). Timeliness and the relevance of research also are important (Dobbins et al 2001; Frenk 1992; Hemsley‐Brown 2004; Hennink and Stephenson 2005; Jacobson, Butterill, and Goering 2004; Mubyazi and Gonzalez‐Block 2005; Stewart et al 2005; Trostle, Bronfman, and Langer 1999). Since researchers tend to have longer time horizons than decision makers do, Willison and Macleod (1999) suggested that shorter‐term objectives be included to address policymakers' needs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge Transfer and Exchange: Review and Synthesis of the Literature

et al. 2007

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Knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE) is as an interactive process involving the interchange of knowledge between research users and researcher producers. Despite many strategies for KTE, it is not clear which ones should be used in which contexts. This article is a review and synthesis of the KTE literature on health care policy. The review examined and summarized KTE's current evidence base for KTE. It found that about 20 percent of the studies reported on a realworld application of a KTE strategy, and fewer had been formally evaluated. At this time there is an inadequate evidence base for doing "evidence-based" KTE for health policy decision making. Either KTE must be reconceptualized, or strategies must be evaluated more rigorously to produce a richer evidence base for future activity.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge Transfer and Exchange: Review and Synthesis of the Literature

et al. 2007

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“…In studies that did report this information, details varied significantly. In one study involving seven southern African countries, authors describe three week-long residential workshops facilitated by four researchers and include details on workshop duration and content [58]. While in another multinational study, a 3-year grant period is described in which activities occurred [11].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence map of knowledge translation strategies, outcomes, facilitators and barriers in African health systems

Edwards

Zweigenthal

Olivier

2019

Health Res Policy Sys

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BackgroundThe need for research-based knowledge to inform health policy formulation and implementation is a chronic global concern impacting health systems functioning and impeding the provision of quality healthcare for all. This paper provides a systematic overview of the literature on knowledge translation (KT) strategies employed by health system researchers and policy-makers in African countries.MethodsEvidence mapping methodology was adapted from the social and health sciences literature and used to generate a schema of KT strategies, outcomes, facilitators and barriers. Four reference databases were searched using defined criteria. Studies were screened and a searchable database containing 62 eligible studies was compiled using Microsoft Access. Frequency and thematic analysis were used to report study characteristics and to establish the final evidence map. Focus was placed on KT in policy formulation processes in order to better manage the diversity of available literature.ResultsThe KT literature in African countries is widely distributed, problematically diverse and growing. Significant disparities exist between reports on KT in different countries, and there are many settings without published evidence of local KT characteristics. Commonly reported KT strategies include policy briefs, capacity-building workshops and policy dialogues. Barriers affecting researchers and policy-makers include insufficient skills and capacity to conduct KT activities, time constraints and a lack of resources. Availability of quality locally relevant research was the most reported facilitator. Limited KT outcomes reflect persisting difficulties in outcome identification and reporting.ConclusionThis study has identified substantial geographical gaps in knowledge and evidenced the need to boost local research capacities on KT practices in low- and middle-income countries. Evidence mapping is also shown to be a useful approach that can assist local decision-making to enhance KT in policy and practice.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12961-019-0419-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…As early as 2001, a team from the University of Johannesburg, along with the Institute of Education's EPPI-Centre (London), delivered a series of workshops funded by DFID in evidence-informed decision making for HIV prevention, for policy makers and practitioners across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region (Ellison et al, 2001;Stewart, 2001). Our evaluation of these workshops highlighted the need to recognise that the evidencebased approach, with its emphasis on research, may appear foreign, challenging, and even threatening, to both individuals and their decision-making systems (Stewart et al, 2005;Stewart, 2007). We found that while decision makers need to be able to understand and critique research, expectations that decision makers will conduct research themselves must be avoided.…”

Section: What Do We Know About 'What Work' In Increasing the Use Of mentioning

confidence: 99%

A theory of change for capacity building for the use of research evidence by decision makers in southern Africa

Stewart

2014

evid policy

Self Cite

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The effective use of public policy to reduce poverty and inequality in southern Africa requires an increased use of research evidence to inform decision making. There is an absence of clear evidence as to how best to encourage evidence-informed decision making, and how to build capacity among decision makers in the use of research. This paper proposes a demand-focused approach for increasing the use of evidence in policy, presenting strategies supporting 'pull' activities and closer linkages and exchanges between producers and users. The paper shares for discussion a people-focused theory of change for building capacity to use research evidence amongst policy makers in southern Africa. key words research use • knowledge transition • evidence-informed policy • capacity building Why is there a need to increase the use of research evidence to enable reductions in poverty and inequality?

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Exploring the Evidence-Practice Gap: A Workshop Report on Mixed and Participatory Training for HIV Prevention in Southern Africa

Abstract: This intensive intervention has the potential to reduce the evidence-practice gap for HIV prevention in southern Africa by training non-researchers to engage with research, whilst providing an opportunity for researchers to engage with policy-makers and practitioners.

Cited by 12 publications

References 8 publications

Knowledge Transfer and Exchange: Review and Synthesis of the Literature

Knowledge Transfer and Exchange: Review and Synthesis of the Literature

Evidence map of knowledge translation strategies, outcomes, facilitators and barriers in African health systems

A theory of change for capacity building for the use of research evidence by decision makers in southern Africa

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