title: Towards a common terminology: a simplified framework of interventions to promote and integrate evidence into health practices, systems, and policies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A wide range of diverse and inconsistent terminology exists in the field of knowledge translation. This limits the conduct of evidence syntheses, impedes communication and collaboration, and undermines knowledge translation of research findings in diverse settings. Improving uniformity of terminology could help address these challenges. In 2012, we convened an international working group to explore the idea of developing a common terminology and an overarching framework for knowledge translation interventions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Methods included identifying and summarizing existing frameworks, mapping together a subset of those frameworks, and convening a multi-disciplinary group to begin working toward consensus. The group considered four potential approaches to creating a simplified framework: melding existing taxonomies, creating a framework of intervention mechanisms rather than intervention strategies, using a consensus process to expand one of the existing models/frameworks used by the group, or developing a new consensus framework.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The work group elected to draft a new, simplified consensus framework of interventions to promote and integrate evidence into health practices, systems and policies. The framework will include four key components: strategies and techniques (active ingredients), how they function (causal mechanisms), how they are delivered (mode of delivery), and what they aim to change (intended targets). The draft framework needs to be further developed by feedback and consultation with the research community and tested for usefulness through application and evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa Hospital - General Campus, 501 Smyth Road, C,P, 711, K1H 8 L6 Ottawa, ON, Canada. hcolquhoun@ohri.ca.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Colquhoun
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leeman
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Michie
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lokker
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bragge
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hempel
authors.forename: K Ann
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: McKibbon
authors.forename: Gjalt-Jorn Y
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Kathleen R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grimshaw
mesh_terms: D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D057766:Policy; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000458:organization & administration*