How COVID-19 affects the use of evidence informed policymaking among iranian health policymakers and managers

Archives of Public Health

Zhanming Liang¹  Ebrahim Kharazinejad²  Peivand Bastani³  Carmen Huckel Schneider⁴  Mahnaz Samadbeik⁵  Jamshid Bahmaei⁶ 

[1] College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Division of Tropic Health and Medicine, James Cook University, 4811, Townsville, Qld, Australia;Department of Anatomical Sciences, Abadan University of Medical Sciences, Abadan, Iran;Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;Menzies Centre for Health Policy and Economics, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia;Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran;Centre for Online Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia;Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran;

关键词: Evidence informed Policy making;    Knowledge Translation Exchange;    Knowledge Broker;    COVID-19;    Health policymakers;    Health managers;    Iran;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13690-021-00757-3

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for new valid scientific evidence to support urgent clinical and policy decision making; as well as improved processes for the rapid synthesis, uptake and application of that evidence. Evidence informed policymaking (EIPM) can be considered as a way to access and use the results of evidence in practice. This study aimed to determine what effects COVID-19 had on the way Iranian health managers and policymakers use evidence in their decisions.MethodsThis study was conducted in 2021 applying a qualitative research design. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Thirty health care managers, policy makers and medical university faculty members were recruited as the study participants, initially via a purposive sample, followed by snowballing. A conventional content analysis presented by Hsieh and Shannon (2005) was applied for data analysis.ResultsTen main themes emerged from the data including: 1) roles and duties of knowledge brokers (KBs); 2-5) the roles, benefits, barriers and necessities of applying Knowledge Translation Exchange (KTE) tools; 6-8) the facilitators, benefits and barriers to the application of evidence during COVID-19; 9) challenges of rapid evidence production evidence during COVID-19 and 10) consequences of not applying evidence during COVID-19. According to the present conceptual framework, KBs act as an intermediator between the large amounts of knowledge produced and decision makers. KTE tools should be applied to enhance EIPM during COVID-19. Attention should be paid to the facilitators, barriers, benefits and necessities of evidence application during COVID-19 to avoid negative consequences for the health system.ConclusionsResults of this study show that developing KTE tools and activating KBs can be among the main strategies to produce applied actionable messages for policymakers to move toward EIPM; and that this applies even when rapid decision making is required, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is strongly recommended to reinforce the local capacities through supporting scientific networks and relationships between research centers and local and national policymakers. At the same time, attention to local barriers to and facilitators of the application of evidence while facing a pandemic can pave the way to better identification of health system`s problems and rapid responses.

【 授权许可】

CC BY