Res ipsa loquitur: "the thing speaks for itself": so why isn't evidence enough for enactment?

The gap between scientific evidence and its application poses profound challenges to adolescent healthcare researchers, educators, and advocates. These challenges are compounded by the alliance of political power with social and religious ideology, the consequence of which is the distortion and undermining of scientific evidence and inquiry. This article, based on a keynote presentation to the Center for Health Promotion Research Conference on Adolescent Health, describes examples of such interference and the need for effective response to those who deliberately seek to widen the gap between evidence-based approaches to adolescent health, as well as the implementation of such knowledge in programs and policy.