SUPPORT Tools for evidence-informed health Policymaking (STP)

3-siders sammendrag

Knowing how to find and use research evidence can help policymakers
and those who support them to do their jobs better and more efficiently.
Each chapter presents a proposed tool that can be used by those involved
in finding and using research evidence to support evidence-informed health
policymaking. The book addresses four broad areas:
1) Supporting evidenceinformed policymaking, 2) Identifying needs for research evidence in relation to three steps in policymaking processes, namely problem clarification, options framing, and implementation planning, 3) Finding and assessing both systematic reviews and other types of evidence to inform these steps, and 4) Going from research evidence to decisions.

Each chapter begins with between one and three typical scenarios relating to the topic. These scenarios are designed to help readers decide on the level of detail relevant to them when applying the tools described. Most chapters are structured using a set of questions that guide readers through the proposed tools and show how to undertake activities to support evidence-informed policymaking efficiently and effectively.

These activities include, for example, using research evidence
to clarify problems, assessing the applicability of the findings of a systematic
review about the effects of options selected to address problems, organising
and using policy dialogues to support evidence informed policymaking, and
planning policy monitoring and evaluation.

In several chapters, the set of questions presented offers more general guidance on how to support evidence informed policymaking. Additional information resources are listed and described in every chapter. The evaluation of ways to support evidence-informed health policymaking is a developing field and feedback about how to improve the book is welcome.