title: Strengthening the evidence-policy interface for patient safety: enhancing global health through hospital partnerships.
abstract: Strengthening the evidence-policy interface is a well-recognized health system challenge in both the developed and developing world. Brokerage inherent in hospital-to-hospital partnerships can boost relationships between "evidence" and "policy" communities and move developing countries towards evidence based patient safety policy. In particular, we use the experience of a global hospital partnership programme focused on patient safety in the African Region to explore how hospital partnerships can be instrumental in advancing responsive decision-making, and the translation of patient safety evidence into health policy and planning. A co-developed approach to evidence-policy strengthening with seven components is described, with reflections from early implementation. This rapidly expanding field of enquiry is ripe for shared learning across continents, in keeping with the principles and spirit of health systems development in a globalized world.
authors.affiliation: African Partnerships for Patient Safety, Patient Safety Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. syeds@who.int.
authors.forename: Shamsuzzoha B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Syed
authors.forename: Viva
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dadwal
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Storr
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.forename: Joyce D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Hightower
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gooden
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pittet
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D003657:Decision Making; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D003906:Developing Countries; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D014943:Global Health; D006291:Health Policy; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D061214:Patient Safety