Transcript Slide 1

Knowledge Transfer
project Planning
12-13 Aban 1389
KTE-TUMS Group
A five-step approach to knowledge
transfer
1.
2.
3.
4.
Message (WHAT?)
Target Audience ( To WHOM?)
Messenger (BY WHOM?)
Knowledge transfer process and support system
(HOW?)
5. Evaluation (with what EFFECT should it be
transferred?)
Body of research
• The research literature strongly suggests
that research organizations should
transfer actionable message from a body
of research knowledge, not simply a
single research report or the results of a
single study.
• The basic unit of knowledge translation
should be systematic reviews or other
syntheses of the global evidence base.
• Always?
Level of Evidence
Is it correct to consider individual studies
as the unit of knowledge translation?
• This is inappropriate when the targets for
knowledge translation are patients, health care
professionals and policy makers.
• Individual studies rarely, by themselves,
provide sufficient evidence for policy or
practice changes.
Why?
• 1. Individual studies can often lead to a
conclusion very different from that of a
systematic review of all available studies.
• 2. Research in the form of “ideas,” not
“data,” most influences decision making.
• Information that is drawn from a body of knowledge,
rather than from a single study, can better enhance
both the applicability and validity of the knowledge.
• The results of single studies are less likely to generate
a robust conclusion. They could also be too specific to
be applicable to other contexts, populations, and
conditions. Therefore, it is suggested that systematic
reviews should be applied to identify standards for
information selection and packaging.
Not all research can or should have an impact
• Some bodies of research knowledge will not
generate a “take-home” message, because
either the research has no apparent application
for decision makers or the findings are not
conclusive.
• Lavis has argued that the 'natural unit' for research
translation should be 'actionable messages' arising
from systematic reviews, and that the effort of
promoting research findings to a given category of user
should be concentrated on the fraction of systematic
reviews that have an actionable message for that
particular audience
• This suggests that undertaking a priori to 'disseminate'
the findings of a particular piece of public health
research in the public domain (as opposed to making
the findings visible to others working within the overall
translation framework) might, in some cases, be
inefficient or even harmful.
Message (WHAT?)
• “Actionable messages” are preferable to single
research reports or the results of single studies.
Actionable message
Synthesis of research knowledge
Individual studies, articles and reports
Basic, theoretical and methodological innovations
The first published study on a
scientific question may find the
most exaggerated effect size and
that as further evidence is
gathered, effect sizes tend to
diminish.
Ioannidis, J. (2006). PLOS Clinical Trials 1(7); e36. doi:10.1361/journal.pctr.0010036.
RESULTS FOR CANADA’S APPLIED
RESEARCH CENTRES
Surveyed 175 applied health or economic/social
research centers on knowledge transfer (KT)
• What is transferred?
% frequently/always
– Summaries or synthesis
34
– Actionable messages
30
• i.e. over two-thirds are still doing knowledge transfer
with raw results from single studies
“What should be transferred?”
• The question “What should be transferred?”
challenges knowledge translators to identify the
key messages for different target audiences
and to fashion these in language and
knowledge translation products that are
easily assimilated by different audiences.
For Example
• Patient Decision Aids for patients
• Clinical practice guidelines for health care
professionals
• Actionable messages for policy makers
• How research or any type of findings are packaged and
presented can impact how readily the knowledge is to
put into practice. It is sometimes useful, for example, to
move away from more ‘academic’ presentations of the
research findings (e.g. graphs and charts) and to use,
instead, stories or anecdotes to convey the information.
Tailoring your Findings for Research Users
• It has also been suggested that “to make the most out
of research evidence and to reach policy makers, give
them something in a paragraph to get their attention;
better still if you can give one sentence that can be a
slogan, a mantra they can repeat..”
• The language of the message is also important. For
example, to influence decision makers, the research
information should be in the form of “ideas” not “data.”
Other Aspects:
•
•
•
•
•
Safety
Ethics
Cost-effectiveness
Effectiveness
Organizational issues
• Of course, these ideas or take-home messages are
best considered a starting point for a discussion with
policy makers and managers rather than a cookbook
remedy.
• Summaries are intended to augment collaboration
between researchers and decision makers, not replace
it altogether.
What do we want to disseminate?
• It is essential, that you and your team have a shared
vision and common understanding of what it is you
want to disseminate together with a way of describing
this to those that are outside your project and who may
stand to benefit from your work.
• When preparing a message to transfer, it is also
necessary to consider what information will be most
useful to the audience. Effective messages show the
audience the practical applications of the knowledge –
why the information matters to them.
• In constructing any message, it is important to
focus on the 5Cs:
sure it • Clear: a message is easy to understand,
• Concise: a message is easy to read,
• Consistent: a message is related to information
that is consistent with other existing information,
• Compelling: a message offers something that
commands attention,
• Continuous: a message has follow-up to make is
not forgotten or overlooked.
• An actionable message can be defined by considering
these questions:
– Why is this issue important?
– What does the research evidence tell us
about this issue?
– Do we know whether and to what extent
current decision-making differs from
optimal/informed decision making?
– Who should act and what should be done?
• Messages/products should be jargon free and should
be pilot tested in order to assess their acceptability to
the targeted audience.
• The research summary must extract clear, simple and
active main messages or key implications from
research results, while directing readers to the full
research reports for more specific details.
BEING ECONOMICAL BUT LIVELY WITH
WORDS
• Summaries, like news articles, will suffer from passive
verbs, run-on sentences, mixed metaphors and clichés.
In particular, "readers notice sloppy writing and they
don't forgive." To ensure every idea flows logically into
the next, it is best to use simple declarative sentences,
each sticking to one idea. This kind of writing is easier
to understand and will better hold the readers' attention.
Key messages for what
• Messages from body of researches
• Tailoring your Findings for Research Users
• “Evidence is an important part, but not the only part of
effective decision-making. The use of evidence is most
successful when local differences are factored into the
decision-making process, whether at the clinical,
system, or policy level”
A five-step approach to knowledge
transfer
1.
2.
3.
4.
Message (WHAT?)
Target Audience ( To WHOM?)
Messenger (BY WHOM?)
Knowledge transfer process and support system
(HOW?)
5. Evaluation (with what EFFECT should it be
transferred?)
Lavis, J; et al. (2003). « How Can Research Organizations More Effectively
Transfer Research Knowledge to Decision-Makers »; The Milbank Quarterly,
81 (2) : 221-248.
Target Audiences
• A message’s target audience must be clearly identified.
• Multiple audience-specific messages are needed.
• Research knowledge alone may not impact decisions.
• The term “target audience or group” can be used to
describe the different groups of stakeholders connected
to your project.
• It is important to identify and be clear about who your
stakeholders are and then you need to be able to map
them to one of the categories of the awareness,
understanding, and action model.
Target Audience (WHO?)
– Identify the most appropriate target
audience(s) for each message and finetune the message and approach to
knowledge transfer for each target
audience
Typical targets
• Macro level (policies)
– Ministry of health
– Regional health authorities
– Regulatory agencies
• Meso level (management)
– Hospital managers
– Department and program managers
• Micro level (practice)
– Colleges and associations of physicians/nurses
– Physicians, nurses, other health care providers
– Patients, people
The Challenge of Identifying Specific Target
Audiences!
1.
2.
3.
4.
Who can act on the basis of the available research knowledge?
Who can influence those who can act?
With which of these target audience(s) can we expect to have
the most success?
Which messages pertain most directly to them?
Handy Hints
• 1) Think about how you can present your project's
outputs/outcomes as benefits/solutions.
• 2) Place yourself in the "shoes" of each target
audience/group and think about what problems you
would be looking for.
To Whom Should Knowledge Be Transferred?
clinical
Health
Service
Patients
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Professional
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Local administrator
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National policy
maker
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type of
research
r
basic
Population
Health
Potential Stakeholder
To Whom Should Knowledge Be Transferred?
basic
clinical
Health
Service
Population
Health
Regulatory Bodies
+++
+++
++
++
Industry
+++
+++
++
+
Research Funder
+++
+++
+++
+++
Researchers
+++
+++
+++
+++
type of
research
r
Potential Stakeholder
• The relative importance of different target
audiences will also vary by the results of
research.
• Lack of benefit or harms from a drug: policy
makers, regulatory bodies and industry
• Benefits from a drug: patients, providers, local
administrators, national policy makers,
regulatory bodies and industry.
• The research literature does not explain
how to select the target audiences for a
message, only that once a target
audience is identified, the specific
knowledge-transfer strategy should be
fine-tuned to the type of the decisions
the decision makers face.
• Learning about these decision-making
environments often requires a significant
investment of time and financial
resources.
Key message for “To whom”
• Identify and be clear about who your stakeholders are
and then you need to be able to map them to one of the
categories of the awareness, understanding, and
action model.
A five-step approach to knowledge
transfer
1.
2.
3.
4.
Message (WHAT?)
Target Audience ( To WHOM?)
Messenger (BY WHOM?)
Knowledge transfer process and support
system (HOW?)
5. Evaluation (with what EFFECT should it be
transferred?)
Lavis, J; et al. (2003). « How Can Research Organizations More Effectively
Transfer Research Knowledge to Decision-Makers »; The Milbank Quarterly,
81 (2) : 221-248.