Reflecting on Backward Design for Knowledge Translation; Comment on “A Call for a Backward Design to Knowledge Translation”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors

1 Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada

2 Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Abstract

In a recent Editorial for this journal, El-Jardali and Fadlallah proposed a new framework for Knowledge Translation (KT) in healthcare. Many such frameworks already exist; thus, new entrants to the field must be scrutinized in regard to their unique contributions to advancing understanding and practice. The El-Jardali and Fadlallah framework focuses on policy-level discussions, a relatively under-studied issue to date. Their framework usefully incorporates both priority setting questions at the front-end (which KT efforts get undertaken and which do not) as well as evaluation questions at the back-end (how do we show that more evidence-informed decisions are actually better ones?). Their framework also emphasizes capacity building among both decision-makers and researchers. This is an area worthy of additional attention, particularly because it is likely to be far more challenging than El-Jardali and Fadlallah allow.

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 09 March 2015
  • Revise Date: 28 April 2015
  • Accept Date: 28 April 2015
  • First Publish Date: 01 August 2015

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