- Authors: Dias S, Hartz Z, Okamura M
- Publication Year: 2017
- Journal: Anais do Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical
- Link: http://ihmtweb.ihmt.unl.pt/PublicacoesFB/Anais/Anais_vol16_suplemento2_2017/files/assets/common/downloads/An%20Inst%20Hig%20Med%20Trop%202017-VOL16%20_Supl.%202_site.pdf
Evaluative studies are useful to understand the implementation and effectiveness of strategies in health. However, the ability to translate the results of these studies into changes in clinical practice and policymaking has been small compared to the investments made over the years. Thus, there is a weak link between the process of knowledge production, its transmission and use in decision-making.
This article focuses on evaluation as a methodology to facilitate the knowledge translation and its practical implications. This process involved the interaction between researchers and knowledge users and the discussion of how to turn knowledge into action, encompassing the process of creation and utilization by the various stakeholders.
In the perspective of knowledge translation, the discussion of this article focuses on the structure of five questions proposed by Grinshaw and Lavis in terms of what should be transferred, to whom, by whom, how and what the effect of this process. It is evidenced as a collective process with a high degree of interdependence where the potential users may or may not have sufficient autonomy to use them. Moreover, the degree of knowledge utilization will depend on contextual and the process itself as it occurs.