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. 2021 Oct 20;18(21):11014.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111014.

Policymakers' Research Capacities, Engagement, and Use of Research in Public Health Policymaking

Natasa Loncarevic  1 , Pernille Tanggaard Andersen  1 , Anja Leppin  1 , Maja Bertram  1
Affiliations

Policymakers' Research Capacities, Engagement, and Use of Research in Public Health Policymaking

Natasa Loncarevic et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The use of research in public health policymaking is one of the prerequisites for successfully implemented health policies which have better population health as an outcome. This policy process is influenced by the actors involved under the policy umbrella, with inter-related contextual factors and specific structural and institutional circumstances. Our study investigates how policymakers' research capacities influence the use of research in the health policy process and identify areas where capacity-building interventions give the most meaning and impact. Furthermore, we investigate policymakers' research engagement and use this to inform public health policy in the public sector in Denmark. We collect and report data using Seeking, Engaging with, and Evaluation Research (SEER) methodology. Policymakers are reported to have research capacity, but it is questionable how those competences have actually been used in policymaking. Decision-makers were often not aware or did not know about the existing organizational tools and systems for research engagement and use and two third of respondents had not been part of any research activities or had any collaboration with researchers. Overall, research use in public health policymaking and evaluation was limited. As a conclusion, we propose that capacity-building interventions for increasing research use and collaboration in EIPM should be context-oriented, measurable, and sustainable in developing individual and organizational competences.

Keywords: Denmark; SPIRIT Action Framework; capacity-building; evidence-informed policy making; public health policy; research engagement action; research use.

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Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The SPIRIT Action Framework (Reprinted from The SPIRIT Action Framework: A structured approach to selecting and testing strategies to increase the use of research in policy. Soc Sci Med, (2015), 136–137, 147–155. Redman, S., Turner, T., Davies, H., Williamson, A., Haynes, A., Brennan, S., Green, S. Copyright (2021), with permission of Elsevier).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relationships between people and organizations in public health decision making (Reprinted from The Relationships Between State Health Department Practitioners’ Perceptions of Organizational Supports and Evidence-Based Decision-Making Skills. Public Health Reports (1974), Mazzucca, S. et al. (2021), Copyright (2021), with permission from SAGE Publications, Inc.).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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