Policy diffusion theory, evidence-informed public health, and public health political science: a scoping review

Abstract

Objectives Our aim was to synthesize published scholarship that applies policy diffusion—a theory of the policy process that considers the interdependence of government-level public health policy choices. We paid particular attention to the role of scientific evidence in the diffusion process, and to identifying challenges and gaps towards strengthening the intersection of public health, public policy, and political science. Methods We systematically searched 17 electronic academic databases. We included English-language, peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2021. For each article, we extracted the following information: public health policy domain, geographic setting, diffusion directions and mechanisms, the role of scientific evidence in the diffusion process, and author research discipline. Synthesis We identified 39 peer-reviewed, primary research articles. Anti-smoking and tobacco control policies in the United States (n = 9/39) were the most common policy domain and geographic context examined; comparatively fewer studies examined policy diffusion in the Canadian context (n = 4/39). In terms of how policies diffuse, we found evidence of five diffusion mechanisms (learning, emulation, competition, coercion, and social contagion), which could moreover be conditional on internal government characteristics. The role of scientific evidence in the diffusion process was unclear, as only five articles discussed this. Policy diffusion theory was primarily used by public policy and political science scholars (n = 19/39), with comparatively fewer interdisciplinary authorship teams (n = 6/39). Conclusion Policy diffusion theory provides important insights into the intergovernmental factors that influence public health policy decisions, thus helping to expand our conceptualization of evidence-informed public health. Despite this, policy diffusion research in the Canadian public health context is limited.

Diseminasi Hasil Kajian Ilmiah Khasiat Terapi Pasir Bagi Pengelola Pantai Kejawanan

“…Diseminasi riset bagi pemangku kebijakan juga menjadi penting agar perumusan kebijakan didasarkan pada objektivitas yang dapat dipertanggungjawabkan secara ilmiah. Pada bidang kesehatan, pengambilan kebijakan berbasis pembuktian menjadi penting terkait aspek keadilan, kesejahteraan, kesetaraan, dan keselamatan (Fundytus et al, 2023).…”

“…Pendekatan aktif dilakukan melalui aksi/kegiatan yang langsung antara peneliti dengan sasaran/masyarakat seperti penyuluhan, diskusi, training atau pelatihan, dan workshop. Diseminasi secara pasif dilakukan dengan menggunakan tulisan artikel ilmiah maupun popular (Brownson et al, 2018;Fundytus et al, 2023;Shea et al, 2017a).…”