Institute of Population and Public Health (IPPH)
IPPH Knowledge Translation
The field of population and public health has a strong history in knowledge translation (also referred to as "dissemination" or "diffusion of innovations" in the health promotion literature). Through strategic partnerships and novel funding mechanisms,
IPPH is working to integrate knowledge translation as part of all its activities, involving potential users of research at the earliest stages of project development.
KT Funding
IPPH has funded and partnered on a number of programs dedicated to or integrating KT activities, including research syntheses RFAs and the Partnerships for Health System Improvement Program.
IPPH also runs the Research Development and Knowledge Exchange Initiative to fund activities such as workshops, symposia, environmental scans and researcher exchanges that support.
Numerous population and public health researchers are now working on exciting KT projects supported by CIHR and IPPH. Examples include:
- Steve Manske and colleagues at the University of Waterloo are testing KT strategies in tobacco control, a top public health priority. The team is comparing the effects of two interventions to support planning and evaluation of youth tobacco reduction activities, with the aim of understanding why and how KT processes operate at provincial and local levels.
- Peter Tugwell and colleagues at the University of Ottawa are undertaking research to explore the knowledge translation priorities, expectations and activities of health research funding agencies in selected low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The project will identify gaps and differences in the support and promotion of knowledge translation and highlight areas of good practice to support improved health and health care in LMICs.
- Marcia Hills and colleagues at the University of Victoria are conducting a systematic review of the effectiveness of community efforts to reduce health disparities: a neglected area of research. The project aims to inform policy makers, researchers and practitioners of the best available evidence on effective practice in community health interventions.
- Pat Martens and colleagues at the University of Manitoba working on the From Evidence to Action project are developing an organizational assessment tool to identify barriers to research use in the province's regional health authorities. Using the same collaborative approach, the team will implement strategies to address these barriers to help increase the quality of health services planning in Canada.
- Paul Bernard and colleagues at the Centre de recherché Léa-Roback in Montreal are conducting a scoping review to examine the association between neighbourhood characteristics and health outcomes, with a particular focus on what factors matter for mortality and morbidity. Policy makers will be involved throughout the project, discussing the research results, articulating their needs and sharing their own knowledge, to better inform the design of policies and interventions to tackle social inequalities in health.
Spreading the word
In 2006, IPPH, in partnership with the Canadian Population Health Initiative, produced a KT casebook focusing on population and public health research. This casebook, Moving population and public health knowledge into action: A casebook of knowledge translation stories, is designed to encourage and recognize KT activity, and to help researchers, policy makers and community members learn from the experiences of others. As part of the Global Health Research Initiative, IPPH has also supported the first Global Health Research casebook.
IPPH also supports the Canadian Journal of Public Health (CJPH) by encouraging researchers to submit articles for publication, coordinating special supplements and inserts that align with IPPH strategic priorities and contributing content directly.
National Collaborating Centres for Public Health
IPPH has actively contributed to the establishment of the National Collaborating Centres for Public Health (NCCs), a PHAC-led initiative designed to make research on public health more relevant and understandable for individuals and organizations that could use this information in their day-to-day practices and in policy making. (Read more in an article about the NCCs authored by IPPH staff.)
The six NCCs are:
