plueme/wizJson huggingface dataset:
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: The understanding, application and influence of complexity in national physical activity policy-making 
abstract:BackgroundComplexity theory and systems-thinking are increasingly popular in physical activity (PA) research and policy discourse. The impact of this perspective shift, across many sectors, may be underwhelming. We explore why, by focusing on how these concepts are understood and applied by PA policy-makers. This is of particular interest given the challenges of multisectoral interest and poorly defined stakeholder boundaries that are associated with PA promotion. In this study, we critique key elements of complexity theory and consider how it is understood and put into practice in PA policy-making.MethodsWe adopted a complex realist position. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with national-level policy-makers from United Kingdom government settings (five civil servants, three politicians, two policy advisors). An inductive thematic analysis was conducted, and managed with NVivo 10 software.ResultsThree overarching themes were constructed to reflect policy-makers’ uncertainty about complexity and the application of such perspectives to this policy space, their sense that PA was an unexceptionable yet unclaimed policy issue, and their desire for influence and change. Participants discussed complexity in contrasting ways. Its meaning was context-dependent and dynamic, which generated uncertainty about applying the concept. Participants also perceived an increasingly diverse but ill-defined PA policy system that spans the domains of expertise and responsibility. Collaborative practices may contribute to a previously unobserved sense of detachment from the systems’ complexity. Nevertheless, participants suggested potentially effective ways to stimulate system change, which require passionate and enterprising leadership, and included varied evidence use, a focus on localised implementation and different ways to connect people.ConclusionsThis research highlighted the importance of extending complexity theory and systems-thinking. While emphasizing the prevalence of these ideas across the PA sector, there is uncertainty as to their meaning and implications. This may prevent their use in ways that enhance PA policies and programmes. Participants conceptualised PA as a tool, which was imposed on the system. While this may support participative decision-making and localised implementation, further research is needed to understand how local systems foster leadership, the practical application of complexity and systems-thinking, and how to support system-wide change in the development and implementation of PA policies.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: An analysis of how health systems integrated priority-setting in the pandemic planning in a sample of Latin America and the Caribbean countries 
abstract:BackgroundLatin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are among those regions most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has strained health systems in the region. In this context of severe healthcare resource constraints, there is a need for systematic priority-setting to support decision-making which ensures the best use of resources while considering the needs of the most vulnerable groups. The aim of this paper was to provide a critical description and analysis of how health systems considered priority-setting in the COVID-19 response and preparedness plans of a sample of 14 LAC countries; and to identify the associated research gaps.MethodsA documentary analysis of COVID-19 preparedness and response plans was performed in a sample of 14 countries in the LAC region. We assessed the degree to which the documented priority-setting processes adhered to established quality indicators of effective priority-setting included in the Kapiriri and Martin framework. We conducted a descriptive analysis of the degree to which the reports addressed the quality parameters for each individual country, as well as a cross-country comparison to explore whether parameters varied according to independent variables.ResultsWhile all plans were led and supported by the national governments, most included only a limited number of quality indicators for effective priority-setting. There was no systematic pattern between the number of quality indicators and the country’s health system and political contexts; however, the countries that had the least number of quality indicators tended to be economically disadvantaged.ConclusionThis study adds to the literature by providing the first descriptive analysis of the inclusion of priority-setting during a pandemic, using the case of COVID-19 response and preparedness plans in the LAC region. The analysis found that despite the strong evidence of political will and stakeholder participation, none of the plans presented a clear priority-setting process, or used a formal priority-setting framework, to define interventions, populations, geographical regions, healthcare setting or resources prioritized. There is need for case studies that analyse how priority-setting actually occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and the degree to which the implementation reflected the plans and the parameters of effective priority-setting, as well as the impact of the prioritization processes on population health, with a focus on the most vulnerable groups.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: When the messenger is more important than the message: an experimental study of evidence use in francophone Africa 
abstract:BackgroundEpistemic injustices are increasingly decried in global health. This study aims to investigate whether the source of knowledge influences the perception of that knowledge and the willingness to use it in francophone African health policy-making context. MethodsThe study followed a randomized experimental design in which participants were randomly assigned to one of seven policy briefs that were designed with the same scientific content but with different organizations presented as authors. Each organization was representative of financial, scientific or moral authority. For each type of authority, two organizations were proposed: one North American or European, and the other African. ResultsThe initial models showed that there was no significant association between the type of authority or the location of the authoring organization and the two outcomes (perceived quality and reported instrumental use). Stratified analyses highlighted that policy briefs signed by the African donor organization (financial authority) were perceived to be of higher quality than policy briefs signed by the North American/European donor organization. For both perceived quality and reported instrumental use, these analyses found that policy briefs signed by the African university (scientific authority) were associated with lower scores than policy briefs signed by the North American/European university. ConclusionsThe results confirm the significant influence of sources on perceived global health knowledge and the intersectionality of sources of influence. This analysis allows us to learn more about organizations in global health leadership, and to reflect on the implications for knowledge translation practices.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: Engaging people with lived experience on advisory councils of a national not-for-profit: an integrated knowledge translation case study of Heart & Stroke Mission Critical Area Councils 
abstract:BackgroundIn 2018, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada  transformed its approach to organizational strategic planning and priority-setting. The goal was to generate impact from bench to bedside to community, to improve the health of Canadians. It engaged researchers, clinician scientists, health systems leaders, and community members including people with lived experience (PWLE) on six Mission Critical Area (MCA) councils, each of which was co-chaired by a researcher or clinician scientist and a person with lived experience. Together, council members were tasked with providing advice to Heart & Stroke about the most relevant and impactful priorities of our time. The aim of this research was to explore the value of the MCA councils to Heart & Stroke, and to council members themselves. The research questions focused on understanding the process of managing and participating on the councils, the challenges and outcomes.Methods Using an integrated knowledge translation approach, we conducted a case study with developmental evaluation over a 2-year time period (2018–2020). We collected qualitative data from various sources (Heart & Stroke team responsible for managing the councils, council co-chairs, council members, and key informants). We collected documents and analysed them for contextual background.Results Participants noted that the MCA councils continuously evolved over the 2 years in various ways: from an uncertain direction to a concrete one, better integrating the voice of PWLE, and increased cohesiveness within and across MCA councils. This evolution was achieved in parallel with successes and challenges at three levels: the MCA councils and its members, Heart & Stroke, and Canadians. The MCA councils were disbanded in 2020, yet learnings, developments, initiatives and established partnerships remain as their legacy.Conclusions Heart & Stroke’s intended objectives for the MCA councils, to promote engagement and dialogue among community members including PWLE, clinician scientists, and researchers, and to provide advice into Heart & Stroke’s strategic renewal process, were achieved. This collaborative structure and process for PWLE engagement within a community of multidisciplinary clinician scientists and researchers is possible yet requires flexibility, commitment to stakeholder relationship management, and considerable resources. These findings may be helpful for other not-for-profit and funding organizations interested in engaging the public and other stakeholders into their organizational activities.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: Evaluating official development assistance-funded granting mechanisms for global health and development research that is initiated in high-income countries 
abstract:BackgroundSeveral countries allocate official development assistance (ODA) for research on global health and development issues that is initiated in the donor country. The integration of such research within domestic research systems aligns with efforts to coordinate ODA investments with science, technology and innovation policies towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).MethodsThrough a document synthesis and interviews with research funders in ODA donor and recipient countries, we evaluated the performance of this funding approach across seven donor-country programmes from five donor countries and examined the institutional design elements that increase its chances of advancing development goals and addressing global challenges.ResultsWe found that carefully designed programmes provide a promising pathway to producing valuable and contextually relevant knowledge on global health and development issues. To achieve these outcomes and ensure they benefit ODA-receiving countries, programmes should focus on recipient-country priorities and absorptive capacity; translate research on global public goods into context-appropriate technologies; plan and monitor pathways to impact; structure equitable partnerships; strengthen individual and institutional capacity; and emphasize knowledge mobilization.ConclusionsGlobal health and development research programmes and partnerships have an important role to play in achieving the SDGs and addressing global challenges. Governments should consider the potential of ODA-funded research programmes to address gaps in their global health and development frameworks. In the absence of concrete evidence of development impact, donor countries should consider making increases in ODA allocations for research additional to more direct investments that have demonstrated effectiveness in ODA-receiving countries.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: An evaluation of the evidence brief for policy development process in WHO EVIPNet Europe countries 
abstract:BackgroundEvidence briefs for policy (EBPs) represent a potentially powerful tool for supporting evidence-informed policy-making. Since 2012, WHO Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIPNet) Europe has been supporting Member States in developing EBPs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the process of developing EBPs in Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia.MethodsWe used a rapid appraisal approach, combining semi-structured interviews and document review, guided by the Medical Research Council (MRC) process evaluation framework. Interviews were conducted with a total of 20 individuals familiar with the EBP process in the three study countries. Data were analysed thematically, and emerging themes were related back to the MRC framework components (implementation, mechanisms of impact, and context). We also reflected on the appropriateness of this evaluation approach for EVIPNet teams without evaluation research expertise to conduct themselves.ResultsThe following themes emerged as important to the EBP development process: how the focus problem is prioritized, who initiates this process, EBP team composition, EBP team leadership, availability of external support in the process, and the culture of policy-making in a country. In particular, the EBP process seemed to be supported by early engagement of the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders as initiators, clear EBP team roles and expectations, including a strong leader, external support to strengthen EBP team capacity and cultural acceptance of the necessity of evidence-informed policy-making. Overall, the evaluation approach was considered feasible by the EBP teams and captured rich qualitative data, but may be limited by the absence of external reviewers and long lag times between the EBP process and the evaluation.ConclusionsThis process occurs in a complex system and must be conceptualized in each country and each EBP project in a way that fits local policy-making culture, priorities, leadership and team styles, roles and available resources. The use of a rapid appraisal approach, combining qualitative interviews and document review, is a feasible method of process evaluation for EVIPNet member countries.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: Late career participation of late retirees in the age of the silver tsunami: understanding the influencing mechanism of health status and employment-based health insurance participation 
abstract:BackgroundThe delayed retirement initiative and population aging have led to a growing group of late retirees. However, it remains unclear whether the existing employment-based health insurance system can effectively match the recently proposed initiative and support late retirees, especially those with pre-existing function limitations. Thus, this study aims to investigate the influencing mechanism of China’s Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI), physical functioning limitation (PFL) and difficulty in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) on labour participation of late retirees in China.MethodsThis study uses data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) survey, which tracks the quality of life among older adults in China (valid sample size = 5560).ResultsEmpirical results show that China’s employment-based health insurance (i.e. UEBMI) and health conditions (i.e. PFL and difficulty in IADLs) are positively associated with late retirees’ withdrawal from late career participation. In addition, a higher level of difficulty in IADLs could strengthen the effect of PFL on late retirees’ withdrawal from late career participation, which could be further buffered by UEBMI beneficiary status.ConclusionIn the formulation of delayed retirement policies, it is necessary to consider the influencing mechanism of the social health insurance system and health conditions on late career participation of older workers to ensure policy effectiveness.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: How to work with intangible software in public health systems: some experiences from India 
abstract:This commentary focuses on “intangible software”, defined as the range of ideas, norms, values and issues of power or trust that affect the performance of health systems. While the need to work with intangible software within health systems is increasingly being recognized, the practical hows of doing so have been given less attention. In this commentary, we, a team of researchers and implementers from India, have tried to deliberate on these hows through a practice lens. We engage with four questions of current relevance to intangible software in the field of health policy and systems research (HPSR): (1) Is it possible to rewire intangible software in health systems? (2) What approaches have been attempted in the Indian public health system to rewire intangibles? (3) Have such approaches been evaluated? (4) What practical lessons can we offer from our experience on rewiring intangibles? From our perspective, approaches to rewiring intangible software recognize that people in health systems are capable of visioning, thinking, adapting to and leading change. These approaches attempt to challenge the often-unchallenged power hierarchies in health systems by allowing people to engage deeply with widely accepted norms and routinized actions. In this commentary, we have reported on such approaches from India under six categories: approaches intended to enable visioning and leading; approaches targeted at engaging with evidence better; approaches intended to help health workers navigate contextual complexities; approaches intended to build the cultural competence; approaches that recognize and reward performance; and approaches targeted at enabling collaborative work and breaking power hierarchies. Our collective experiences suggest that intangible software interventions work best when they are codesigned with various stakeholders, are contextually adapted in an iterative manner and are implemented in conjunction with structural improvements. Also, such interventions require long-term investments. Based on our experiences, we highlight the need for the following: (1) fostering more dialogue on this category of interventions among all stakeholders for cross-learning; (2) evaluating and publishing evidence on such interventions in nonconventional ways, with a focus on participatory learning; and (3) building ecosystems that allow experiential learnings on such interventions to be shared.
location: nan, 'Global 
year: 2022 source: BMC 
title: Enhancing the capacity of the mental health and substance use health workforce to meet population needs: insights from a facilitated virtual policy dialogue 
abstract:BackgroundTimely knowledge mobilization has become increasingly critical during the COVID-19 pandemic and complicated by the need to establish or maintain lines of communication between researchers and decision-makers virtually. Our recent pan-Canadian research study on the mental health and substance use health (MHSUH) workforce during the pandemic identified key policy barriers impacting this essential workforce. To bridge the evidence–policy gap in addressing these barriers, we held a facilitated virtual policy dialogue. This paper discusses the insights generated at this virtual policy dialogue and highlights how this integrated knowledge mobilization strategy can help drive evidence-based policy in an increasingly digital world.MethodsWe held a 3-hour virtual policy dialogue with 46 stakeholders and policy decision-makers as the final phase in our year-long mixed-methods research study. The event was part of our integrated knowledge mobilization strategy and was designed to generate stakeholder-driven policy implications and priority actions based on our research findings. The data collected from the virtual policy dialogue included transcripts from the small-group breakout rooms and main sessions, reflective field notes and the final report from the external facilitator. Coded data were thematically analysed to inform our understanding of the prioritization of the policy implications and action items.ResultsFacilitated virtual policy dialogues generate rich qualitative insights that guide community-informed knowledge mobilization strategies and promote evidence-informed policy. Our policy dialogue identified actionable policy recommendations with equity as a cross-cutting theme. Adapting policy dialogues to virtual formats and including technology-assisted facilitation can offer advantages for equitable stakeholder participation, allow for deeper analysis and help build consensus regarding evidence-based policy priorities.ConclusionsOur facilitated virtual policy dialogue was a key knowledge mobilization strategy for our research on the capacity of the Canadian MHSUH workforce to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our policy dialogue allowed us to engage a diverse group of MHSUH workforce stakeholders in a meaningful action-oriented way, provided an avenue to get feedback on our research findings, and generated prioritized action items that incorporated the knowledge and experience of these MHSUH workforce stakeholders.