Article type
Year
Abstract
Introduction:
Objectives: To determine which individual, organizational, environmental, and characteristics of the innovation are most strongly associated with systematic overviews influencing policy decisions related to program planning, justification, evaluation, policy development and staff development among individual decision-makers in Ontario.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included a telephone survey of senior public health decision-makers in all 41 public health units in Ontario, who had been disseminated 5 systematic overviews two years earlier. A short, self-administered organizational demographics questionnaire was also distributed to the administrative assistant of each Medical Officer of Health for each health unit. Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to identify significant predictors ol the overall use of the systematic overviews, and the influence these overviews had on policy decisions.
Results: The response rate was high at 87%. Characteristics of the innovation, such as the relevance of the overviews to policy decisions, and ease of use, proved to be the most significant predictors of systematic overview use and the influence the overviews had on policy decisions. Organizational characteristics were the second most important predictors, followed by individual and then environmental characteristics.
Discussion: The results of this study demonstrated the importance of tailoring the presentation of systematic overviews to the specific needs and preferences of the study population. It also clearly demonstrated the importance of characteristics of the innovation in the research utilization process. To a lesser degree, this study also supported the importance of organizational characteristics in the transfer and uptake of research evidence in policy decision-making. The results of this study will assist ir the development of future dissemination strategies among public health decision-makers in public health units.
Objectives: To determine which individual, organizational, environmental, and characteristics of the innovation are most strongly associated with systematic overviews influencing policy decisions related to program planning, justification, evaluation, policy development and staff development among individual decision-makers in Ontario.
Methods: This cross-sectional study included a telephone survey of senior public health decision-makers in all 41 public health units in Ontario, who had been disseminated 5 systematic overviews two years earlier. A short, self-administered organizational demographics questionnaire was also distributed to the administrative assistant of each Medical Officer of Health for each health unit. Multiple logistic and linear regression analyses were conducted to identify significant predictors ol the overall use of the systematic overviews, and the influence these overviews had on policy decisions.
Results: The response rate was high at 87%. Characteristics of the innovation, such as the relevance of the overviews to policy decisions, and ease of use, proved to be the most significant predictors of systematic overview use and the influence the overviews had on policy decisions. Organizational characteristics were the second most important predictors, followed by individual and then environmental characteristics.
Discussion: The results of this study demonstrated the importance of tailoring the presentation of systematic overviews to the specific needs and preferences of the study population. It also clearly demonstrated the importance of characteristics of the innovation in the research utilization process. To a lesser degree, this study also supported the importance of organizational characteristics in the transfer and uptake of research evidence in policy decision-making. The results of this study will assist ir the development of future dissemination strategies among public health decision-makers in public health units.