Article type
Year
Abstract
Background:
The main participants in this ecosystem were researchers from Cochrane Nigeria and other Cochrane contributors, health care professionals, guideline developers, policymakers, media organization, consumer networks and patients.
Within the last decade, researchers from Cochrane Nigeria have conducted two priority setting exercises of systematic reviews of interventions for communicable and non-communicable diseases to identify priority health topics. The process involved stakeholders like healthcare providers, policymakers, consumer representatives and patients who identified and ranked review questions. Attempt have been made to disseminate the findings from the priority setting exercises.
Objectives:
To examine the challenges and gaps to knowledge translation within the evidence ecosystem in Nigeria
Gaps and bottlenecks to evidence uptake:
It is worrisome that there is a gap between the producers of evidence and policymakers in Nigeria (Figure 1) . Partly due to lack of pull for evidence on the part of policymakers and senior healthcare professionals largely due to ignorance. Because of this, most policy decisions and practice guidelines are not evidence based.
Conclusions:
Knowledge translation is a new area for us however we are making progress in this regard. Recently, there has been an effort on the part of Cochrane Nigeria to engage professional groups so that they can appreciate and use systematic reviews for practice guideline development. We also need to continue to engage other professional groups and different departments of the Ministry of Health on the need to have evidence-based practice guidelines.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
The priority exercises conducted involved patients and consumer advocacy groups. Additionally, a consumer advocate contributed to the outcomes of the systematic review protocols before publication.
The main participants in this ecosystem were researchers from Cochrane Nigeria and other Cochrane contributors, health care professionals, guideline developers, policymakers, media organization, consumer networks and patients.
Within the last decade, researchers from Cochrane Nigeria have conducted two priority setting exercises of systematic reviews of interventions for communicable and non-communicable diseases to identify priority health topics. The process involved stakeholders like healthcare providers, policymakers, consumer representatives and patients who identified and ranked review questions. Attempt have been made to disseminate the findings from the priority setting exercises.
Objectives:
To examine the challenges and gaps to knowledge translation within the evidence ecosystem in Nigeria
Gaps and bottlenecks to evidence uptake:
It is worrisome that there is a gap between the producers of evidence and policymakers in Nigeria (Figure 1) . Partly due to lack of pull for evidence on the part of policymakers and senior healthcare professionals largely due to ignorance. Because of this, most policy decisions and practice guidelines are not evidence based.
Conclusions:
Knowledge translation is a new area for us however we are making progress in this regard. Recently, there has been an effort on the part of Cochrane Nigeria to engage professional groups so that they can appreciate and use systematic reviews for practice guideline development. We also need to continue to engage other professional groups and different departments of the Ministry of Health on the need to have evidence-based practice guidelines.
Patient or healthcare consumer involvement:
The priority exercises conducted involved patients and consumer advocacy groups. Additionally, a consumer advocate contributed to the outcomes of the systematic review protocols before publication.