Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi

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dc.contributor.authorMapulanga, Patrick
dc.contributor.authorRaju, Jaya
dc.contributor.authorMatingwina, Thomas
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-09T15:54:17Z
dc.date.available2019-04-09T15:54:17Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractPurpose – The paper examines levels of health research evidence in health policies in Malawi. Design/Methodology/Approach – The study selected a typology of health policies in Malawi from 2002 to 2017. The study adopted the SPIRIT conceptual framework and assessed the levels of research evidence in health policy, systems and services research using the revised SAGE policy assessment tool. Documentary analysis was used to assess levels of health research evidence in health policies in Malawi. Findings – In 29 (96.7%) of the health policies, policy formulators including healthcare directors and managers used generic search engines such as Google or Google Scholar to look for heath research evidence. In 28 (93.3%) of the health policies they searched for grey literature and other government documents. In only 6 (20%) of the heath policy documents, they used academic literature in a form of journal articles and randomised controlled trials. No systematic reviews or policy briefs were consulted. Overall, in 23 (76.7%) of the health policy documents research evidence played a minimal role and had very little influence on the policy documents. Research limitations/implications – The empirical evidence in the health policy documents are limited due to insufficient research citation, low retrievability of health research evidence in the policy documents and biased selectivity of what constitutes health research evidence. Practical implications – The paper indicates that unfiltered information (data from policy evaluations and registries) constitutes majority of the research evidence in health policies both in health policy, systems and services research. The paper seeks to advocate for the use of filtered information (peer reviewed, clinical trials and data from systematic reviews) in formulating health policies. Originality/value – There is dearth of literature on the levels of health research evidence in health policy-making both in health policy, systems and services research. This study seeks to bridge the gap with empirical evidence from a developing country perspective.en_US
dc.identifier10.1108/LHS-09-2018-0050
dc.identifier.apacitationMapulanga, P., Raju, J., & Matingwina, T. (2019). Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi. <i>Leadership in Health Services</i>, 32(2), 226-250. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29963en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMapulanga, Patrick, Jaya Raju, and Thomas Matingwina "Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi." <i>Leadership in Health Services</i> 32, 2. (2019): 226-250. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29963en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMapulanga, P., Raju, J., Matingwina, T. 2019. Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi. Leadership in Health Services. 32; 2; 226-250.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1751-1879
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Mapulanga, Patrick AU - Raju, Jaya AU - Matingwina, Thomas AB - Purpose – The paper examines levels of health research evidence in health policies in Malawi. Design/Methodology/Approach – The study selected a typology of health policies in Malawi from 2002 to 2017. The study adopted the SPIRIT conceptual framework and assessed the levels of research evidence in health policy, systems and services research using the revised SAGE policy assessment tool. Documentary analysis was used to assess levels of health research evidence in health policies in Malawi. Findings – In 29 (96.7%) of the health policies, policy formulators including healthcare directors and managers used generic search engines such as Google or Google Scholar to look for heath research evidence. In 28 (93.3%) of the health policies they searched for grey literature and other government documents. In only 6 (20%) of the heath policy documents, they used academic literature in a form of journal articles and randomised controlled trials. No systematic reviews or policy briefs were consulted. Overall, in 23 (76.7%) of the health policy documents research evidence played a minimal role and had very little influence on the policy documents. Research limitations/implications – The empirical evidence in the health policy documents are limited due to insufficient research citation, low retrievability of health research evidence in the policy documents and biased selectivity of what constitutes health research evidence. Practical implications – The paper indicates that unfiltered information (data from policy evaluations and registries) constitutes majority of the research evidence in health policies both in health policy, systems and services research. The paper seeks to advocate for the use of filtered information (peer reviewed, clinical trials and data from systematic reviews) in formulating health policies. Originality/value – There is dearth of literature on the levels of health research evidence in health policy-making both in health policy, systems and services research. This study seeks to bridge the gap with empirical evidence from a developing country perspective. DA - 2019 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 2 J1 - Leadership in Health Services KW - health policy KW - levels of research KW - evidence-based practice KW - knowledge translation KW - SPIRIT KW - SAGE assessment tool LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2019 SM - 1751-1879 T1 - Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi TI - Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29963 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/29963
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-09-2018-0050
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMapulanga P, Raju J, Matingwina T. Levels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawi. Leadership in Health Services. 2019;32(2):226-250. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29963.en_ZA
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisher.departmentLibrary and Information Studies Centre (LISC)en_US
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_US
dc.sourceLeadership in Health Servicesen_US
dc.source.journalissue2en_US
dc.source.journalvolume32en_US
dc.source.pagination226-250en_US
dc.source.urihttps://www.emeraldinsight.com/loi/lhs
dc.subjecthealth policyen_US
dc.subjectlevels of researchen_US
dc.subjectevidence-based practiceen_US
dc.subjectknowledge translationen_US
dc.subjectSPIRITen_US
dc.subjectSAGE assessment toolen_US
dc.titleLevels of research evidence in health policy assessment in Malawien_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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