NSW Health COVID-19 Emergency Response Priority Research program: a case study of rapid translation of research into health decision making.

Objectives: The NSW Health COVID-19 Research Program was established in April 2020 to contribute to minimising the health, social and economic impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in New South Wales (NSW). This paper describes the establishment and implemention of one element of the Program, the Emergency Response Priority Research (Emergency Response) workstream, which is focused on the rapid creation of evidence to support urgent operational work for the public health management of COVID-19 in NSW.

Methods: Narrative description.

Can an electronic monitoring system capture implementation of health promotion programs? A focussed ethnographic exploration of the story behind program monitoring data.

Background: There is a pressing need for policy makers to demonstrate progress made on investments in prevention, but few examples of monitoring systems capable of tracking population-level prevention policies and programs and their implementation. In New South Wales, Australia, the scale up of childhood obesity prevention programs to over 6000 childcare centres and primary schools is monitored via an electronic monitoring system, "PHIMS".

Methods: Via a focussed ethnography with all 14 health promotion implementation teams in the state, we set out to explore what aspects of program implementation are captured via PHIMS, what aspects are not, and the implications for future IT implementation monitoring systems as a result.

Key Performance Indicators for program scale-up and divergent practice styles: a study from NSW, Australia.

Implementing programs at scale has become a vital part of the government response to the continuing childhood obesity epidemic. We are studying the largest ever scale-up of school and child care obesity prevention programs in Australia. Health promotion teams support primary schools and early childhood services in their area to achieve a number of specified, evidence-based practices aimed at organizational changes to improve healthy eating and physical activity.

Capturing implementation knowledge: applying focused ethnography to study how implementers generate and manage knowledge in the scale-up of obesity prevention programs.

Background: Bespoke electronic information management systems are being used for large-scale implementation delivery of population health programs. They record sites reached, coordinate activity, and track target achievement. However, many systems have been abandoned or failed to integrate into practice.

How are evidence generation partnerships between researchers and policy-makers enacted in practice? A qualitative interview study.

Background: Evidence generation partnerships between researchers and policy-makers are a potential method for producing more relevant research with greater potential to impact on policy and practice. Little is known about how such partnerships are enacted in practice, however, or how to increase their effectiveness. We aimed to determine why researchers and policy-makers choose to work together, how they work together, which partnership models are most common, and what the key (1) relationship-based and (2) practical components of successful research partnerships are.