scholarly journals Assessing the usefulness of policy brief and policy dialogue as knowledge translation tools towards contextualizing the accountability framework for routine immunization at a subnational level in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Ulu Ogbonnaya ◽  
Ijeoma Nkem Okedo-Alex ◽  
Ifeyinwa Chizoba Akamike ◽  
Benedict Azuogu ◽  
Henry Urochukwu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Evidence suggests that implementing an accountability mechanism such as the accountability framework for routine immunization in Nigeria (AFRIN) will improve routine immunization (RI) performance. The fact that the AFRIN, which was developed in 2012, still had not been operationalized at the subnational level (Ebonyi State) by 2018 may in part account for the poor RI coverage (33%) in 2017. Knowledge translation (KT) is defined as the methods for closing the gaps from knowledge to practice. Policy briefs (useful in communicating research findings to policy-makers) and policy dialogues (that enable stakeholders to understand research evidence and create context-resonant implementation plans) are two KT tools. This study evaluated their usefulness in enabling policy-makers to contextualize AFRIN in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Methods The study design was cross-sectional descriptive with mixed-methods data collection. A policy brief developed from AFRIN guided deliberations in a 1-day multi-stakeholder policy dialogue by 30 policy actors. The usefulness of the KT tools in contextualizing policy recommendations in the AFRIN was assessed using validated questionnaires developed at McMaster University, Canada. Results At the end of the policy dialogue, the policy options in the policy brief were accepted but their implementation strategies were altered to suit the local context. The respondents’ mean ratings (MNR) of the overall usefulness of the policy brief and the policy dialogue in contextualizing the implementation strategies were 6.39 and 6.67, respectively, on a seven-point Likert scale (very useful). The MNR of the different dimensions of the policy brief and policy dialogue ranged from 6.17 to 6.60 and from 6.10 to 6.83, respectively (i.e. moderately helpful to very helpful). Conclusion The participants perceived the KT tools (policy brief and policy dialogue) as being very useful in contextualizing policy recommendations in a national policy document into state context-resonant implementable recommendations. We recommend the use of these KT tools in operationalizing AFRIN at the subnational level in Nigeria.

Author(s):  
Tidiane Diallo ◽  
Adama Denou ◽  
BF Coulibaly ◽  
Blaise Dakouo ◽  
B Coulibaly ◽  
...  

Goal: The objective of our study was to assess the evolution of the knowledge and behavior of pharmacy pharmacists in the fight against malaria with a view to involving officer's pharmacists in the fight against malaria.Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that took place in two phases in the private dispensaries of the Bamako district of Mali. The first phase of the study (initial investigation) took place from April to May 2014 and covered 55 pharmacists from communes III and VI in Bamako. The second phase (monitoring) took place from November 2014 to November 2015, after training of all dispensary pharmacists in the Bamako district in accordance with the PNLP guidelines, which concerned all pharmacists in the Bamako district.Result: This revealed that some indicators are significantly improved: possession of a national policy document; Knowledge of drugs recommended for simple malaria; Practice and sale of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria. Other indicators have increased: availability of ACTs; Sale of insecticide-treated mosquito nets; Behavior before a suspicion of simple malaria; Behavior before suspicion of severe malaria.Conclusion: Thus, an involvement of officer pharmacists in malaria epidemiological surveillance can significantly reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. We recommend to the pharmacists the dispensation of the antimalaria ones according to the recommendations of the national program of fight against the malaria.


2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Basaza ◽  
Alison Kinegyere ◽  
Boniface Mutatina ◽  
Nelson Sewankambo

Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide evidence about the design and implementation of policies for advancing the sustainability of knowledge translation (KT) initiatives and policies in Uganda's health system.Methods: We searched for and reviewed evidence about KT sustainability issues in Uganda, the impacts of options, barriers to implementing these options, and implementation strategies to address such barriers. In instances where the systematic reviews provided limited evidence, these were supplemented with relevant primary studies. Documents such as the government reports and unpublished literature were also included in the search. Key informant interviews and a policy dialogue were conducted, and an expert working group guided the study.Results: The KT sustainability issues identified were: the absence of a specific unit within the health sector to coordinate and synthesize research; health worker not familiar with KT activities and not often used. Furthermore, Uganda lacks a mechanism to sustain its current national health frameworks or platforms, and does not have a system to ensure the sustained coordination of existing national health KT platforms. The policy options proposed include: (i) the identification of a KT champion; (ii) the establishment of an operational KT framework; (iii) KT capacity building for researchers and research users, as well as policy and decision makers.Conclusions: The sustainability of KT will be influenced by the prevailing context and concerns within healthcare both in Uganda and internationally. Furthermore, the availability of resources for KT advocacy, communication, and program design will impact on the sustainability of Uganda's KT activities.


1999 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 13-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. van Waveren

For about 20 years models have been used on a large scale in the water management of The Netherlands. Today models are indispensable in modern water management. However, while on one hand the application of models in water management still increases, on the other hand the appreciation of policy makers for models decreases, especially in the Dutch national policy. One has to look very carefully to recognise the policy analysis by models in the policy documents, although the number of used models and the number of calculations was larger than ever before. Summarised it may be stated that the application of models is facing some serious problems. Especially the efficiency must increase. Together with the coming, new questions in water management, the involved participants in integrated water management are forced to join forces in the development and application of models. Therefore in The Netherlands a Standard Framework discussion started between the involved participators. The first results are very promising. Looking at the future it can be concluded that the next generation of models to be built for the fifth National Policy Document on Water Management, will not just be a model system of the national government, but a system of all involved participants in Dutch water management.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nor Ashikin Mohamed Yusof ◽  
Sri Widias Asnam ◽  
Aini Suzila Anas ◽  
Nur Suraya Mustapha ◽  
Natrah Emran ◽  
...  

<p><em>Policy making is an integral part of policy studies. Theoretically the process of developing a policy document is neither easy nor simple. Far from merely copying the policy provisions of other countries, the process of developing a policy document must go through specific steps and procedures commonly known as policy cycle with each cycle serves specific functions. Although bench-making study is highly encouraged, it is also preferable for policymakers to align the policy making exercise in accordance to proven theory, model, method and process. Not many know about all these processes and steps. Some very senior and seasoned policymakers even think that there is no need for them to learn and pursue knowledge in policymaking simply because they have long years of practical experiences in developing, formulating, implementing, enforcing and subsequently analyzing and evaluating policies. This article reports case studies involving five national policy documents and internal policies at several key governmental department and organizations. The findings from the study enables the researchers to make a comparison between the theory of policy making and the practice of policy making in Malaysia. The findings show that there is still a huge gap between theory and practice in policymaking and policy studies in Malaysia. There are instances where few policy makers or top management personnel choose not to follow or ignorant about the steps of policy cycles. Although policy studies might have a very bright future in Malaysia but the journey in educating relevant parties would be a long one beginning with a correct perception and willingness to change attitudes.    </em></p><p> </p><strong>Keywords; <em>policy studies, policy cycle, policy making process</em></strong>


2020 ◽  
pp. bjsports-2020-102771
Author(s):  
Margo Mountjoy ◽  
Jane Moran ◽  
Hosny Ahmed ◽  
Stephane Bermon ◽  
Xavier Bigard ◽  
...  

All sport events have inherent injury and illness risks for participants. Healthcare services for sport events should be planned and delivered to mitigate these risks which is the ethical responsibility of all sport event organisers. The objective of this paper was to develop consensus-driven guidelines describing the basic standards of services necessary to protect athlete health and safety during large sporting events. By using the Knowledge Translation Scheme Framework, a gap in International Federation healthcare programming for sport events was identified. Event healthcare content areas were determined through a narrative review of the scientific literature. Content experts were systematically identified. Following a literature search, an iterative consensus process was undertaken. The outcome document was written by the knowledge translation expert writing group, with the assistance of a focus group consisting of a cohort of International Federation Medical Chairpersons. Athletes were recruited to review and provide comment. The Healthcare Guidelines for International Federation Events document was developed including content-related to (i) pre-event planning (eg, sport medical risk assessment, public health requirements, environmental considerations), (ii) event safety (eg, venue medical services, emergency action plan, emergency transport, safety and security) and (iii) additional considerations (eg, event health research, spectator medical services). We developed a generic standardised template guide to facilitate the planning and delivery of medical services at international sport events. The organisers of medical services should adapt, evaluate and modify this guide to meet the sport-specific local context.


Author(s):  
Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi ◽  
Priscilla Onaopemipo Akosile ◽  
Aanuoluwapo Adeyimika Afolabi ◽  
Victor Okoliko Ukwenya

Abstract Background This study aimed to assess the level of trust in the COVID-19 risk communication efforts in Nigeria. Methods We conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study among community members aged 15 years and above in Ondo state in October, 2020. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Descriptive statistics were summarized using frequencies. Trust was ranked from “1” implying “Low level of trust” to “7” denoting “High level of trust”. We conducted bivariate Chi-square test on respondents’ level of trust in the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and socio-demographic characteristics. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results Among the 691 respondents, 244 (35.3%) were aged 21 to 29 years, and 304 (51.4%) used the NCDC to obtain COVID-19 knowledge. Overall, 205 (41.8%) had high level of trust in the NCDC. Furthermore, 51 (51.5%) individuals aged 30-39 years had high level of trust in the NCDC (ᵡ2=17.455, p= 0.001). Also, 114 (48.5%) persons who lived with children below 18 years had high level of trust in the NCDC (ᵡ2= 8.266, p= 0.004). Conclusion Policy makers should prioritize the involvement of young and educated persons in COVID-19 risk communication strategies.


Author(s):  
Amani Salem Alqahtani ◽  
Meshael Mohammed Alrasheed ◽  
Ada Mohammed Alqunaibet

This study aims to investigate public response attitude, anxiety, practices and trust in the authorities’ mitigation plan during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. A national cross sectional phone survey was conducted among Saudi residents aged 16 years and above. A total of 90,421 (45.2%) individuals participated in the study. Of those, the overall rate of COVID-19 correct knowledge was 82% (mean: 9.84); social media was the most reported source of knowledge. Younger age, low levels of education and foreign residents were associated with poor knowledge. Overall, 49.5% scored 5 or more on the GAD-7 test, indicating anxiety symptoms, 19.2% of them scored 10 and above, suggesting moderate to severe anxiety. Majority of participants (>78%) trusted and supported the interventions implemented by the government to control COVID-19. Social distancing practices among participants was as following, 72.5% stayed at home and avoid going out for nonessential business and 49.5% avoided attending social events and family gatherings. Trust in authorities, being anxious, worry and levels of knowledge about the disease, were the most common factors affecting adoption of the recommended practices. Continuous evaluation of public response about COVID-19, and the effectiveness of protective measures is essential to better inform policy-makers and identify ways of encouraging behaviour change among public during pandemic.


2021 ◽  
pp. 074391562199967
Author(s):  
Raffaello Rossi ◽  
Agnes Nairn ◽  
Josh Smith ◽  
Christopher Inskip

The internet raises substantial challenges for policy makers in regulating gambling harm. The proliferation of gambling advertising on Twitter is one such challenge. However, the sheer scale renders it extremely hard to investigate using conventional techniques. In this paper the authors present three UK Twitter gambling advertising studies using both Big Data analytics and manual content analysis to explore the volume and content of gambling adverts, the age and engagement of followers, and compliance with UK advertising regulations. They analyse 890k organic adverts from 417 accounts along with data on 620k followers and 457k engagements (replies and retweets). They find that around 41,000 UK children follow Twitter gambling accounts, and that two-thirds of gambling advertising Tweets fail to fully comply with regulations. Adverts for eSports gambling are markedly different from those for traditional gambling (e.g. on soccer, casinos and lotteries) and appear to have strong appeal for children, with 28% of engagements with eSports gambling ads from under 16s. The authors make six policy recommendations: spotlight eSports gambling advertising; create new social-media-specific regulations; revise regulation on content appealing to children; use technology to block under-18s from seeing gambling ads; require ad-labelling of organic gambling Tweets; and deploy better enforcement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s380-s380
Author(s):  
Sree Kalpana Mohankumar ◽  
Vishweshwarayya Hiremath ◽  
Rajashree Koppad

Background: Countries that have good rubella surveillance, report ∼10,000–20,000 rubella cases annually. In India, not many cases of rubella are reported. The Hebballi Agasi ward of Dharwad district in Karnataka state, India, reported rubella cases on the last week of January 2015. Objective: We investigated the outbreak by time, place, person, and clinical symptoms. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study. We defined a case as any resident of Heballi Agasi who had fever and rash, with or without lymphadenopathy, arthralgia, conjunctivitis, coryza, and cough, after December 15, 2014. We collected sociodemographic details and clinical symptoms of patients. We collected 5 serum samples and sent them to the National Measles Laboratory, Bangalore. We tested for measles and rubella antibodies. We drew an epidemic curve and a spot map. We computed mean age of cases, and we calculated attack rates by mean age and gender. We calculated proportions to describe clinical symptoms, and we interviewed stakeholders regarding rubella vaccination. We continued surveillance until March 2015. Results: The population of Heballi Agasi was 1,458. We identified 15 rubella cases (9 girls and 6 boys). The outbreak lasted between December 10, 2014, and February 21, 2015, with a peak on January 16, 2015. The overall attack rate was 1% (15 of 1,458). The mean age of the cases was 6 years (range, 1–23). The attack rate was high (7.7%) among those aged 1–6 years (11 of 143). The attack rate among those aged >6 years was 0.3% (4 of 1,315). In addition to fever and rash, 93% of cases (14 of 15) had coryza, 47% had cough (7 of 15), and 40% had conjunctivitis (6 of 15). Lymphadenopathy was present in only 1 case (1 of 15), and arthralgia was absent among all 15 cases. There was no death among the cases. All 5 sera were positive for rubella and negative for measles. Rubella vaccination was not given for any of the cases because no rubella vaccination is provided in the routine immunization program. Conclusions: There was a rubella outbreak in Heballi Agasi ward. Children aged 1–6 years were most affected. We recommend rubella vaccination in the routine immunization.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


Author(s):  
Sabuj Kanti Mistry ◽  
Armm Mehrab Ali ◽  
Md. Ashfikur Rahman ◽  
Uday Narayan Yadav ◽  
Bhawna Gupta ◽  
...  

The present study explored the changes in tobacco use patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic and their correlates among older adults in Bangladesh. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1032 older adults aged ≥60 years in Bangladesh through telephone interviews in October 2020. Participants’ characteristics and COVID-19-related information were gathered using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire. Participants were asked if they noted any change in their tobacco use patterns (smoking or smokeless tobacco) during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic (6 months prior to the survey). Nearly half of the participants (45.6%) were current tobacco users, of whom 15.9% reported increased tobacco use during the COVID-19 pandemic and all others had no change in their tobacco use patterns. Tobacco use was significantly increased among the participants from rural areas, who had reduced communications during COVID-19 compared to pre-pandemic (OR = 2.76, 95%CI:1.51–5.03). Participants who were aged ≥70 years (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.14–0.77), widowed (OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.13–1.00), had pre-existing, non-communicable, and/or chronic conditions (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.25–0.78), and felt themselves at the highest risk of COVID-19 (OR = 0.31, 95% CI: 0.15–0.62), had significantly lower odds of increased tobacco use. Policy makers and practitioners need to focus on strengthening awareness and raising initiatives to avoid tobacco use during such a crisis period.


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