Health Evidence: Facilitating the Use of Research Evidence in Public Health Decision Making

Background and Context

Knowing how to find and use research evidence can help health professionals, policymakers and those who support them do their jobs efficiently and effectively. Health Evidence is a Canadian organization dedicated to supporting evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) in public health. To facilitate EIDM, Health Evidence has developed tools and resources to support public health practitioners. These include Health-evidence.ca, an online repository of literature reviews evaluating the effectiveness of public health and health promotion interventions, and a series of five tools specific to steps in the EIDM process that support public health professionals as they navigate the EIDM process..

Tools for Knowledge Exchange

In this presentation we will describe these tools and how they were developed in collaboration with public health professionals and field tested among public health staff. These tools guide users in: a) developing a clear answerable research question arising from a practice-based problem or issue; b) generating an efficient search strategy; c) tracking search results and documenting relevant resources used at each stage; d) documenting and sharing the process, research evidence, and lessons learned that contribute to decisions within the organization; and e) documenting context-specific barriers and facilitators to effective decision making. These tools are intended to help public health practitioners use research evidence in decision-making and help public health organizations document and share lessons learned.

Impact, Lessons and Messages 

Using real case scenarios we will discuss how the tools are being used by Health Evidence as well as front line public health professionals to support the process of evidence informed decision making. Feedback on the tools, particularly how they can be improved will be sought from participants.