Skip to main content

Table 5 Research questions related to improving KTE with policymakers

From: Reducing the global burden of Preterm Birth through knowledge transfer and exchange: a research agenda for engaging effectively with policymakers

Goal of the research

Research question

Examples of studies in different contexts:

Understanding and improving elements of the context in which KTE occurs

What are the political, economic, cultural, and social contextual factors that influence PTBI policymaking?

Compare and contrast the influence that key stakeholders have had in PTB policy formation and implementation in developing countries (for example, Kenya, Uganda) to those in underserved communities in developed countries (for example, Fresno, California). Understand how the social context has influenced the degree to which stakeholder groups are able to influence policy formation.

What are the specific barriers and facilitators to the uptake of evidence by policymakers in the research site under study?

Qualitative research with policymakers in the research site under study; document analysis; case studies

In the site being studied, who are the key policymakers, how much power do they have to shape policy, and what is their current position towards PTB?

Stakeholder analysis

In the research site being studied, how much priority does PTB currently receive on the health agenda?

Political prioritization analysis e.g., using the Shiffman and Smith framework for assessing the position of a health issue on the national policy agenda [25]

How do material conditions in the research sites under study (e.g., physical safety, access to clean water, food supply) impact PTB outcomes?

Community-engaged participatory research, ethnography

What are the most important PTB outcomes for people living within each research site, and what are their views on the optimal path forward for changing policies to affect those outcomes?

Community-engaged participatory research, ethnography

What is the role of community advisory boards (CABs) in the policy making process? CABs are comprised of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action in geographical locations or settings. Involving them optimizes the potential for KTE [26, 27]

Qualitative methods

What strategies are associated with optimal KTE?

In the research sites under study, do evidence briefs for policymakers on preventing and treating PTB increase the likelihood that policies will be informed by the evidence?

Review of existing policy resource materials to examine how evidence briefs are used and whether they result in successful outcomes; case studies of examples of previous policymaker decision making, what evidence was used, and with what level of success (in the area of PTBI or parallel areas, e.g., HIV/AIDS); interventional studies that test whether evidence briefs affect policy decisions

In the research sites under study, could an online “one stop shop” on evidence-based interventions for PTB increase the likelihood that policies will be informed by the evidence?

Landscape analyses of which resources currently exist, the availability of any repositories of information, policymaker preference and current use of tools to assure that this resource is useful and tailored to needs; interventional studies that test whether “one-stop shops” affect policy decisions

In the research sites under study, could “deliberative dialogues” (Table 3) with policymakers on evidence-based interventions for PTB increase the likelihood that policies will be informed by the evidence?

Conduct a randomized study in which some sites are randomized to participate in a “deliberate dialogue” (control sites receive an evidence brief (Table 3) but do not participate in a dialogue about this brief)

In the research sites under study, could “rapid response services” (Table 3) with policymakers on evidence-based interventions for PTB increase the likelihood that policies will be informed by the evidence?

Incorporate a rapid response service as part of the randomized study mentioned above

In the research sites under study, could capacity building with policymakers on how to use evidence increase the likelihood that policies will be informed by the evidence?

Incorporate capacity building of policy makers as part of the randomized study

In the research sites under study, could community engagement tools help policymakers to consider new perspectives?

Incorporate community engagement as part of the randomized study

In the research sites under study, could the cultivation of learning collaboratives among policymakers on evidence-based interventions for PTB increase the likelihood that policies will be informed by the evidence?

Incorporate learning collaboratives as part of the randomized study

What are the best ways to optimize the communication from CABs to policy makers? [26, 27] What is the role of advocacy groups?

Participant observation; key informant interviews with participants

What components of post-transfer engagement are associated with KTE strength and durability?

What is the duration of post-transfer engagement that is needed to support “stickiness” and sustainability of knowledge transfer?

Monitor and study research sites as part of the randomized study

What levels of ongoing KTE support were required to achieve tangible policy change outcomes?

Process evaluation of the KTE efforts

How might one improve KTE to create better sustainability in post-transfer engagement?

Exit interviews with participants in KTE efforts to assess “what worked” and “what didn’t”

Evaluation

Did policymakers use the evidence transferred? If they did use it, how did they use the evidence?

Qualitative key informant interviews of how evidence was used, and surveys of policymakers’ knowledge of scientific evidence pre/post KTE

Did KTE efforts result in tangible changes in policies that promote improved PTB outcomes?

Case studies that track KTE from knowledge transfer to policy drafting and implementation to assess changes in funding levels, regulations, etc.

Do KTE efforts, when they have successfully informed policymaking, have a measureable impact on PTB health outcomes?

Natural experiments, ideally using comparison sites, to track PTB outcomes before and after evidence-informed policies were implemented