title: Improving knowledge translation in Uganda: more needs to be done.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Meeting the health-related Millennium Development Goals in Africa calls for better access to and higher utilisation of quality evidence. The mechanisms through which research evidence can effectively guide public health policy and implementation of health programmes are not fully understood. Challenges to the use of evidence to inform policy and practice include the lack of a common understanding of what constitutes evidence and limited insight on the effectiveness of different research uptake activities. Available Knowledge Translation (KT) models have mainly been developed in high income countries and may not be directly applicable in resource-limited settings. In this study we examine the uptake of evidence in public health policy making in Uganda.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a cross-sectional qualitative study consisting of in-depth interviews with 17 purposively-selected health policy makers and researchers. The study explored respondents' perceptions of the role of evidence in public health policy development, their understanding of KT and their views on the appropriateness of different KT activities that are currently implemented in Uganda.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although all respondents stated that evidence should inform health policies and programmes, they noted that this occurred infrequently. We noted a lack of conceptual clarity about KT and what precisely constitutes evidence. Respondents reported having been involved in different KT activities, including partnerships and platforms created for knowledge sharing between researchers and end users, but with very mixed results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is need for conceptual clarity on the notion of KT and an understanding of the most appropriate KT strategies in low-income settings.
authors.affiliation: WHO Uganda office, Health Systems and Services Cluster P. O. Box 24578, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Juliet Nabyonga
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Orem
authors.affiliation: Makerere University School of Social Sciences; P.O Box 7072, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: David Kaawa
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Mafigiri
authors.affiliation: Regional East African Community Health (REACH) Policy Initiative, Uganda and Support the Use of Research Evidence (SURE) for Policy in African Health Systems Project; College of Health Sciences, Makerere University Medical School, P.O. Box 7072 Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: Harriet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nabudere
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp-Belgium; Nationalestraat 155; 2000 Antwerp; Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Criel
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003906:Developing Countries; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D011634:Public Health; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical; D014454:Uganda
keywords: Knowledge translation; Uganda; low income countries; public health policy