Whelan Barbara, Tierney Marie, Burke Nikita N, Saif-Ur-Rahman K M, Creely Caitriona, Duffy Trudy, Gill Catherine, Horgan Mary, Lavis John N, Maguire Teresa, O'Driscoll Mairead, O'Neill John, Waddell Kerry, Devane Declan
Evidence Synthesis Ireland & Cochrane Ireland, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
Centre for Health Research Methodology, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
HRB Open Res. 2025 Jun 23;8:70. doi: 10.12688/hrbopenres.14167.1. eCollection 2025.
Evidence-informed policymaking promotes the use of the best available evidence in a systematic and transparent manner to guide policy decisions. It aims to ensure that policies are grounded in credible and relevant evidence while also considering factors such as feasibility, sustainability, equity, and stakeholder input. The Global Evidence Commission has emphasised the necessity for stronger national evidence infrastructures and recommended that governments evaluate their evidence-support systems, focusing on the demand for evidence from policymakers, the supply of timely and relevant evidence, and the coordination between the two. To assist countries in reviewing their evidence-support systems, the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges developed the Rapid Evidence Support System Assessment (RESSA). Here, we outline the protocol for a RESSA of health policymaking being conducted in Ireland.
This study will adopt a flexible, mixed-methods design with four key stages: (1) a high-level website review, (2) an in-depth document review, (3) semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, and (4) seeking feedback. For the document review, the data analysis and synthesis process will follow the READ approach, allowing for a systematic way to organise, interpret, and synthesise the information extracted from the selected documents. Interview data will be analysed using a thematic approach. Findings from both sources will be triangulated to ensure robust conclusions about the strengths and challenges of the evidence-support system for health policymaking.
This protocol outlines the methods for assessing Ireland's evidence support system for health policymaking. By documenting our approach in detail, we aim to enhance transparency and replicability, providing a foundation for easier comparison and contrast with similar assessments conducted by other groups. While this study focuses on health, the methodology and findings may also inform evidence-support systems in other sectors, such as climate and education.
循证决策以系统、透明的方式促进使用最佳可得证据来指导政策决策。其目的是确保政策基于可靠且相关的证据，同时还要考虑可行性、可持续性、公平性和利益相关者意见等因素。全球证据委员会强调了加强国家证据基础设施的必要性，并建议各国政府评估其证据支持系统，重点关注政策制定者对证据的需求、及时且相关证据的供应以及两者之间的协调。为协助各国审查其证据支持系统，应对社会挑战全球证据委员会开发了快速证据支持系统评估（RESSA）。在此，我们概述了在爱尔兰进行的卫生政策制定RESSA方案。
本研究将采用灵活的混合方法设计，包括四个关键阶段：（1）高级网站审查，（2）深入文件审查，（3）与关键利益相关者进行半结构化访谈，以及（4）征求反馈意见。对于文件审查，数据分析和综合过程将遵循READ方法，从而以系统的方式组织、解释和综合从所选文件中提取的信息。访谈数据将采用主题分析法进行分析。来自这两个来源的结果将进行三角互证，以确保就卫生政策制定证据支持系统的优势和挑战得出有力结论。
本方案概述了评估爱尔兰卫生政策制定证据支持系统的方法。通过详细记录我们的方法，我们旨在提高透明度和可复制性，为与其他团体进行的类似评估进行更轻松的比较和对比提供基础。虽然本研究侧重于卫生领域，但该方法和结果也可能为气候和教育等其他部门的证据支持系统提供参考。
