Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Feb 18;16(4):587.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph16040587.

From Science to Policy and Practice: A Critical Assessment of Knowledge Management before, during, and after Environmental Public Health Disasters

Mélissa Généreux  1   2 , Marc Lafontaine  3 , Angela Eykelbosh  4
Affiliations

From Science to Policy and Practice: A Critical Assessment of Knowledge Management before, during, and after Environmental Public Health Disasters

Mélissa Généreux et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Canada regularly faces environmental public health (EPH) disasters. Given the importance of evidence-based, risk-informed decision-making, we aimed to critically assess the integration of EPH expertise and research into each phase of disaster management. In-depth interviews were conducted with 23 leaders in disaster management from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, and were complemented by other qualitative methods. Three topics were examined: governance, knowledge creation/translation, and related barriers/needs. Data were analyzed through a four-step content analysis. Six critical success factors emerged from the analysis: blending the best of traditional and modern approaches; fostering community engagement; cultivating relationships; investing in preparedness and recovery; putting knowledge into practice; and ensuring sufficient human and financial resources. Several promising knowledge-to-action strategies were also identified, including mentorship programs, communities of practice, advisory groups, systematized learning, and comprehensive repositories of tools and resources. There is no single roadmap to incorporate EPH expertise and research into disaster management. Our findings suggest that preparation for and management of EPH disaster risks requires effective long-term collaboration between science, policy, and EPH practitioners at all levels in order to facilitate coordinated and timely deployment of multi-sectoral/jurisdictional resources when and where they are most needed.

Keywords: disaster risk management; environmental public health; knowledge management; knowledge transfer.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The science-policy-practice continuum (adapted from [10]).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Canadian Disaster Network on Disaster Risk Reduction . Eighth Annual National Roundtable on Disaster Risk Reduction. Public Safety Canada; Halifax, NS, Canada: 2017.
    1. Galea S., Nandi A., Vlahov D. The epidemiology of post-traumatic stress disorder after disasters. Epidemiol. Rev. 2005;27:78–91. doi: 10.1093/epirev/mxi003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goldmann E., Galea S. Mental health consequences of disasters. Annu. Rev. Public Health. 2014;35:169–183. doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182435. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Neria Y., Nandi A., Galea S. Post-traumatic stress disorder following disasters: A systematic review. Psychol. Med. 2008;38:467–480. doi: 10.1017/S0033291707001353. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Warsini S., West C., Dip E.G., Mills J., Usher K. The psychosocial impact of natural disaster among adult survivors. An integrative review. Issues Mental Health Nurs. 2014;35:420–436. doi: 10.3109/01612840.2013.875085. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms