Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University, 8 Scenic Boulevard, Clayton Campus, Victoria, 3800, Australia.
Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Victoria, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2023 Oct 24;23(1):1142. doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-10087-5.
Local government plays an important role in addressing complex public health challenges. While the use of research in this work is important, it is often poorly understood. This study aimed to build knowledge about how research is used by investigating its use by local government authorities (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia in responding to a new legislative requirement to prioritise climate and health in public health planning. The role of collaboration was also explored.
Informed by Normalization Process Theory (NPT), this study adopted multiple research methods, combining data from an online survey and face-to-face interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics; thematic analysis was used to analyse qualitative data.
Participants comprised 15 interviewees, and 46 survey respondents from 40 different LGAs. Research was most commonly accessed via evidence synthesis, and largely used to inform understanding about climate and health. When and how research was used was shaped by contextual factors including legislation, community values and practical limitations of how research needed to be communicated to decision-makers. Collaboration was more commonly associated with research access than use.
Greater investment in the production and dissemination of localised research, that identifies local issues (e.g. climate risk factors) and is tailored to the communication needs of local audiences is needed to foster more impactful research use in local public health policy.
地方政府在应对复杂的公共卫生挑战方面发挥着重要作用。虽然在这项工作中使用研究很重要，但人们对此往往理解不足。本研究旨在通过调查澳大利亚维多利亚州地方政府当局（LGAs）在应对新的立法要求方面的研究使用情况来了解研究的使用情况，该要求是在公共卫生规划中优先考虑气候和健康问题。本研究还探讨了合作的作用。
本研究以规范化进程理论（NPT）为指导，采用了多种研究方法，结合了在线调查和面对面访谈的数据。使用描述性统计对定量数据进行分析；使用主题分析对定性数据进行分析。
参与者包括来自 40 个不同 LGAs 的 15 名受访者和 46 名在线调查受访者。研究主要通过证据综合来获取，主要用于了解气候和健康问题。研究的使用时间和方式受到立法、社区价值观以及向决策者传达研究的实际限制等因素的影响。合作更多地与获取研究相关，而不是使用研究。
需要加大对本地化研究的投入，这些研究应确定当地的问题（如气候风险因素），并根据当地受众的沟通需求进行调整，以促进地方公共卫生政策中更具影响力的研究使用。
