School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences-Makerere University & Commissioner Health Services, Ministry of Health, Box 7272, Kampala, Uganda.
Malar J. 2013 Aug 5;12:274. doi: 10.1186/1475-2875-12-274.
Uganda experiences a high disease burden of malaria, infectious and non-communicable diseases. Recent data shows that malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among all age groups, while HIV prevalence is on the increase and there is re-emergence of viral haemorrhagic fevers and cholera epidemics. In order to respond to the above situation, a team of researchers, policy makers, civil society and the media was formed in order to build a collaboration that would help in discussing appropriate strategies to mitigate the high disease burden in Uganda.
A preparatory secretariat composed of individuals from Ministry of Health, Malaria Research Centre and School of Public Health was formed. The secretariat identified researchers, key resource persons to guide the workshops and the format for presentation. The criteria for selection of the research topics were: National public health importance and had been published in peer-reviewed journals. The presentations were structured as follows: research questions, hypotheses, methodology, major findings and policy implications. The secretariat compiled all the proceedings of the workshops including attendance, address of participants including telephone and email contacts. During the last workshop, an evaluation was conducted to assess the impact of the workshops.
Four workshops were held between 2006 and 2009. A total of 322 participants attended of whom mid-level policy makers, researchers and the media were consistently high. The workshops generated a lot of interest that lead to presentation and discussion of nationally relevant health research results. The workshops had an impact on the participants' skills in writing policy briefs, participating in the policy review process and entering into dialogue with policy makers.
The following lessons have been learned: getting health research into policy is feasible but requires few self-motivated individuals to act as catalysts. Adequate funding and a stable internet are necessary to support the process. Mid-level policy makers and programme managers had interest in this initiative and are likely sustain it as they move to senior positions in policy making.
乌干达疟疾、传染病和非传染性疾病负担沉重。最近的数据显示，疟疾是所有年龄段发病和死亡的主要原因，而艾滋病毒感染率呈上升趋势，病毒性出血热和霍乱疫情再度出现。为应对上述情况，组建了一个由研究人员、政策制定者、民间社会和媒体组成的团队，以建立合作关系，帮助讨论减轻乌干达高疾病负担的适当策略。
成立了一个由卫生部、疟疾研究中心和公共卫生学院的个人组成的筹备秘书处。秘书处确定了研究人员、指导研讨会的主要人员和演示格式。选择研究课题的标准是：对国家公共卫生具有重要意义，并已在同行评议的期刊上发表。演示的结构如下：研究问题、假设、方法、主要发现和政策影响。秘书处汇编了研讨会的所有记录，包括出席情况、与会者的地址，包括电话和电子邮件联系方式。在最后一次研讨会上，对研讨会的影响进行了评估。
2006 年至 2009 年期间举行了四次研讨会。共有 322 名与会者参加，其中中级政策制定者、研究人员和媒体一直保持较高水平。研讨会引起了很大的兴趣，导致了与国家相关的健康研究结果的展示和讨论。研讨会对参与者撰写政策简报、参与政策审查过程以及与政策制定者进行对话的技能产生了影响。
从中学到以下经验：将健康研究纳入政策是可行的，但需要少数有积极性的个人充当催化剂。充足的资金和稳定的互联网是支持这一进程的必要条件。中级政策制定者和方案管理人员对这一倡议有兴趣，并可能在他们晋升为政策制定的高级职位时继续支持这一倡议。
