Acting on the Evidence: The Challenges Facing Policy and Practice Comment on "Barriers and Opportunities for WHO 'Best Buys' Non-communicable Disease Policy Adoption and Implementation From a Political Economy Perspective: A Complexity Systematic Review"

Abstract

Even in situations where there exists robust evidence on what works and what needs to change to tackle deep-seated and persistent public health challenges, the lack of sustained progress across polities globally remains a cause for concern. Adopting a political economy perspective to better understand why the adoption and implementation of policies to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) continues to be deficient, Loffreda and colleagues' systematic review of facilitating and inhibiting factors sheds valuable light on the subject. The adoption of a political economy approach is long overdue since it gets to the nub of identifying enablers and barriers to change and how to tackle the latter while strengthening the former. However, whether such an approach will be welcomed by policy-makers or be rejected merits further exploration if research is going to stand any chance of being heeded and acted upon.

Keywords: Complex Systems Thinking; Implementation Research; Neoliberalism; Political Economy Approach; Public Health; Trade and Health.