Otten Jennifer J, Dodson Elizabeth A, Fleischhacker Sheila, Siddiqi Sameer, Quinn Emilee L
University of Washington, School of Public Health, Nutritional Sciences Program, Box 353410, Seattle, WA 98115. Telephone: 206-221-8233. Email:
Brown School and Prevention Research Center in St Louis, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2015 Apr 30;12:E56. doi: 10.5888/pcd12.140546.
Little attention has been given to how researchers can best provide evidence to policy makers so that it informs policy making. The objectives of this study were to increase understanding about the current state of public health nutrition and obesity researcher practices, beliefs, barriers, and facilitators to communicating and engaging with policy makers, and to identify best practices and suggest improvements.
Eighteen semistructured interviews were conducted from 2011 to 2013 with public health nutrition and obesity researchers who were highly involved in communicating research to policy makers. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed to identify common themes.
Study participants described wide variation in practices for communicating and engaging with policy makers and had mixed beliefs about whether and when researchers should engage. Besides a lack of formal policy communication training, barriers noted were promotion and tenure processes and a professional culture that does not value communicating and engaging with policy makers. Study participants cited facilitators to engaging with policy makers as ranging from the individual level (eg, desire to make a difference, relationships with collaborators) to the institutional level (eg, training/mentorship support, institutional recognition). Other facilitators identified were research- and funding-driven. Promising strategies suggested to improve policy engagement were more formal training, better use of intermediaries, and learning how to cultivate relationships with policy makers.
Study findings provide insights into the challenges that will need to be overcome and the strategies that might be tried to improve communication and engagement between public health researchers and policy makers.
对于研究人员如何才能最好地向政策制定者提供证据以指导政策制定，人们关注甚少。本研究的目的是增进对公共卫生营养和肥胖研究人员的实践、信念、障碍以及与政策制定者沟通和互动的促进因素的当前状况的理解，并确定最佳实践方法并提出改进建议。
2011年至2013年，对18位深度参与向政策制定者传播研究成果的公共卫生营养和肥胖研究人员进行了半结构化访谈。访谈内容逐字记录、编码并分析，以确定共同主题。
研究参与者描述了与政策制定者沟通和互动的实践存在很大差异，对于研究人员是否以及何时应该参与存在不同看法。除了缺乏正式的政策沟通培训外，提到的障碍包括晋升和任期程序以及不重视与政策制定者沟通和互动的专业文化。研究参与者列举了与政策制定者互动的促进因素，范围从个人层面（例如，渴望有所作为、与合作者的关系）到机构层面（例如，培训/指导支持、机构认可）。确定的其他促进因素是由研究和资金驱动的。为改善政策参与提出的有前景的策略包括更正式的培训、更好地利用中介机构以及学习如何与政策制定者建立关系。
研究结果为需要克服的挑战以及可能尝试的改善公共卫生研究人员与政策制定者之间沟通和互动的策略提供了见解。
