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The Use Of Tacit And Explicit Knowledge In Public Health: A Qualitative Study, Anita Kothari, Debbie Rudman, Maureen Dobbins, Michael Rouse, Shannon Sibbald, Nancy Edwards

Anita Kothari

Background Planning a public health initiative is both a science and an art. Public health practitioners work in a complex, often time-constrained environment, where formal research literature can be unavailable or uncertain. Consequently, public health practitioners often draw upon other forms of knowledge.

Methods Through use of one-on-one interviews and focus groups, we aimed to gain a better understanding of how tacit knowledge is used to inform program initiatives in public health. This study was designed as a narrative inquiry, which is based on the assumption that we make sense of the world by telling stories. Four public health units …

Partnerships In Public Health: Lessons From Knowledge Translation And Program Planning, Shannon Sibbald, Anita Kothari, Debbie Rudman, Maureen Dobbins, Michael Rouse, Nancy Edwards, Dana Gore

Anita Kothari

The purpose of this study was to better understand how partnerships are initiated, maintained, and sustained in public health practice. A qualitative design was employed to conduct individual interviews and focus groups. The participants included practitioners from 6 purposively selected public health units in the Canadian province of Ontario that developed partnerships in program planning. It was found that partnerships play an essential role in program planning but that minimal information is available regarding the partnership process. Most partnerships are formed on an ad hoc basis, with little formalization. Public health professionals rely on their experiential knowledge when seeking out …

Public Health Decision Makers’ Informational Needs And Preferences For Receiving Research Evidence, Maureen Dobbins, Susan Jack, Helen Thomas, Anita Kothari

Anita Kothari

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify decision-makers’ preferences for the transfer and exchange of research knowledge. This article is focused on how the participants define evidence-based decision-making and their preferences for receiving research evidence to integrate into the decision-making process.

Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 Ontario public health decision-makers from six Ontario public health units in this fundamental qualitative descriptive study. The sample included nine program managers, six directors, and one Medical Officer of Health. Participants were asked to define the term evidence-based decision-making and identify preferred research dissemination strategies. The …

“Interaction” And Research Utilisation In Health Policies And Programs: Does It Work?, Anita Kothari, Stephen Birch, Cathy Charles

Anita Kothari

The objective of this study was to assess if interaction between users and producers of research is associated with a greater level of adoption of research findings in the design and delivery of health care programs. Responses to the dissemination of a research report on breast cancer prevention were compared between two groups of public health units in Ontario, Canada. Although all public health units received the report, only a subset of units was involved in the development of the report, while others were not. Research utilisation was conceptualized in terms of stages, including reading the report, information processing, and …