2013 Webinar Series on Using Evidence for Policies for Health: evidence informed policymaking

John Lavis presents the webinar on Supporting Evidence-Informed Policymaking: the Role of Health Systems Evidence,Stakeholder Dialogues and Other Initiatives.

Four challenges confront those seeking to support evidence-informed policymaking:
1) research competes with many other factors in the policymaking process;
2) research isn't valued;
3) research isn't relevant; and
4) research isn't easy to use.

A number of initiatives have been developed over the past five years to address these challenges, both in Canada and internationally. Two examples will be described in detail -- Health Systems Evidence and stakeholder dialogues informed by evidence briefs -- both of which draw on Cochrane systematic reviews. Select other examples will also be described.

John Lavis. Director, McMaster Health Forum; Co-Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Evidence-Informed Policy; Associate Director, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis; Professor, Dept. Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Associate Member, Dept. Political Science, McMaster University; Adjunct Professor, Dept. Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health.