Theories, models and frameworks used in capacity building interventions relevant to public health: a systematic review.

Background: There is limited research on capacity building interventions that include theoretical foundations. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify underlying theories, models and frameworks used to support capacity building interventions relevant to public health practice. The aim is to inform and improve capacity building practices and services offered by public health organizations.

Tools to support evidence-informed public health decision making.

Background: Public health professionals are increasingly expected to engage in evidence-informed decision making to inform practice and policy decisions. Evidence-informed decision making involves the use of research evidence along with expertise, existing public health resources, knowledge about community health issues, the local context and community, and the political climate. The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools has identified a seven step process for evidence-informed decision making.

A realist review of interventions and strategies to promote evidence-informed healthcare: a focus on change agency.

Background: Change agency in its various forms is one intervention aimed at improving the effectiveness of the uptake of evidence. Facilitators, knowledge brokers and opinion leaders are examples of change agency strategies used to promote knowledge utilization. This review adopts a realist approach and addresses the following question: What change agency characteristics work, for whom do they work, in what circumstances and why?

Methods: The literature reviewed spanned the period 1997-2007.

School-based physical activity programs for promoting physical activity and fitness in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.9 million deaths worldwide are attributable to physical inactivity and at least 2.6 million deaths are a result of being overweight or obese.

The effect of general surgery clerkship rotation on the attitude of medical students towards general surgery as a future career.

Background: Literature suggests declining interest in General Surgery (GS) and other surgical specialties, with fewer Canadian medical residency applicants identifying a surgical specialty as their first choice. Although perceptions of surgical careers may begin before enrollment in clerkship, clerkship itself provides the most concentrated environment for perceptions to evolve. Most students develop perceptions about specialties during their clinical clerkships.

Realist synthesis: illustrating the method for implementation research.

Background: Realist synthesis is an increasingly popular approach to the review and synthesis of evidence, which focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which an intervention works (or not). There are few published examples of realist synthesis. This paper therefore fills a gap by describing, in detail, the process used for a realist review and synthesis to answer the question 'what interventions and strategies are effective in enabling evidence-informed healthcare?' The strengths and challenges of conducting realist review are also considered.

An optimal search filter for retrieving systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Background: Health-evidence.ca is an online registry of systematic reviews evaluating the effectiveness of public health interventions. Extensive searching of bibliographic databases is required to keep the registry up to date.

Missing and accounted for: gaps and areas of wealth in the public health review literature.

Background: High-quality review evidence is useful for informing and influencing public health policy and practice decisions. However, certain topic areas lack representation in terms of the quantity and quality of review literature available. The objectives of this paper are to identify the quantity, as well as quality, of review-level evidence available on the effectiveness of public health interventions for public health decision makers.

A knowledge management tool for public health: health-evidence.ca.

Background: The ultimate goal of knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) activities is to facilitate incorporation of research knowledge into program and policy development decision making. Evidence-informed decision making involves translation of the best available evidence from a systematically collected, appraised, and analyzed body of knowledge. Knowledge management (KM) is emerging as a key factor contributing to the realization of evidence-informed public health decision making.

Facilitating access to pre-processed research evidence in public health.

Background: Evidence-informed decision making is accepted in Canada and worldwide as necessary for the provision of effective health services. This process involves: 1) clearly articulating a practice-based issue; 2) searching for and accessing relevant evidence; 3) appraising methodological rigor and choosing the most synthesized evidence of the highest quality and relevance to the practice issue and setting that is available; and 4) extracting, interpreting, and translating knowledge, in light of the local context and resources, into practice, program and policy decisions. While the public health sector in Canada is working toward evidence-informed decision making, considerable barriers, including efficient access to synthesized resources, exist.

A randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of knowledge translation and exchange strategies.

Context: Significant resources and time are invested in the production of research knowledge. The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effectiveness of three knowledge translation and exchange strategies in the incorporation of research evidence into public health policies and programs.

Methods: This trial was conducted with a national sample of public health departments in Canada from 2004 to 2006.

A description of a knowledge broker role implemented as part of a randomized controlled trial evaluating three knowledge translation strategies.

Background: A knowledge broker (KB) is a popular knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) strategy emerging in Canada to promote interaction between researchers and end users, as well as to develop capacity for evidence-informed decision making. A KB provides a link between research producers and end users by developing a mutual understanding of goals and cultures, collaborates with end users to identify issues and problems for which solutions are required, and facilitates the identification, access, assessment, interpretation, and translation of research evidence into local policy and practice. Knowledge-brokering can be carried out by individuals, groups and/or organizations, as well as entire countries.

Effective practices for school-based tobacco use prevention.

Background: Research evidence addressing effectiveness of tobacco use prevention interventions has accumulated since the 1970s. Systematic reviews 1985-2006 were considered, building on previous syntheses and spanning tobacco control and prevention efforts to date. Practitioners' experience was drawn upon to supplement research evidence.