Knowledge Transfer - Turning Research into Practice
Turning research into practice is completed through knowledge transfer, and is done through researchers’ linkages with decision makers/policy makers/managers. Good communication, emotion, trust, narrative, and clear goal setting are all important pieces to successful knowledge transfer. More information on how to assist in turning knowledge into practice through successfully connecting with decision makers can be found at The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation website:
http://www.chsrf.ca/knowledge_transfer/resources_e.php,
or the SickKids website: http://www.sickkidsfoundation.com/grants/knowledge.asp
A researcher can increase effective knowledge transfer through:
- Involving users in shaping the research agenda to ensure relevancy and influence uptake.
- Promoting ongoing two-way exchange of knowledge.
- Allocating resources to knowledge translation activities.
- Using a variety of creative strategies.
- Supporting cultural shift in research institutions and among practitioners. (CIHR; http://www.cihr.ca) Additional information on overcoming barriers to knowledge translation can be found at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research website: http://www.cihr.ca
SickKids – Child Health and Evaluative Sciences – Research Themes
CHES is one of the sectors of the Research Institute at the Hospital for Sick Children. This program consists of a team of multidisciplinary faculty and staff with a core mission to conduct and translate research findings into clinical practice and health care policy that contributes to improving paediatric health care delivery and the quality of life in children and their families. The core research themes are:
- Conduct population-based research that is relevant to clinical practice and health policy development.
- Develop epidemiologic evidence knowledge on effectiveness of treatment in common childhood diseases and facilitate the implementation and the evaluation of outcomes.
- Develop and advance innovative quantitative and qualitative research methods.
- Develop and evaluate strategies for knowledge translation, and advance implementation science. For more information about CHES and who to contact, visit: http://www.sickkids.ca/researchprograms/section
OTHER RESOURCES:
- The Centre for Knowledge Transfer (CKT) – http://www.ckt-ctc.ca/
- Knowledge Transfer Program, University of Toronto – http://www.ktp.utoronto.ca/
- Institute of Work and Health – http://www.iwh.on.ca/kte/kte.php
- Publication from the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care: Building Research Transfer Relationships – contact Mel Sweetnam at 416-327-7948 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
- Health Canada also has put together a document identifying guidelines for best practices in palliative care titled: A Model for Volunteer Best Practices in Canadian Hospice Palliative Care. The information packet can be found at: http://www.virtualhospice.ca/Resources/ViewDownloadableResource.asp
EXAMPLES OF TURNING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE:
Knowledge transfer is significant in the process of the development of pediatric palliative care. It is through this process that policies and best practices are built to assist in the enhancement of palliative care for children, and assistance for their families. This section provides an illustration of the process of knowledge transfer, and how policies and guidelines for practice have successfully been constructed and implemented in Canada.
Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control: Palliative Care Working Group - Final Report - January 2002.
Available at: www.virtualhospice.ca
Framework for a National Strategy on Palliative Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada
Available at: www.virtualhospice.ca
Compassionate Care Benefit: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca.
CIHR Research – Translating a Broad Term into Real-World Applications: CIHR’s Successful Approach to Knowledge Translation:
http://www.longwoods.com/product.php?productid=18096&cat=436&page=1
An interesting read: CIHR Research: How to Translate Health Research Knowledge into Effective Healthcare Action
