title: Translating evidence into population health improvement: strategies and barriers.
abstract: Among the challenges facing research translation-the effort to move evidence into policy and practice-is that key questions chosen by investigators and funders may not always align with the information priorities of decision makers, nor are the findings always presented in a form that is useful for or relevant to the decisions at hand. This disconnect is a problem particularly for population health, where the change agents who can make the biggest difference in improving health behaviors and social and environmental conditions are generally nonscientists outside of the health professions. To persuade an audience that does not read scientific journals, strong science may not be enough to elicit change. Achieving influence in population health often requires four ingredients for success: research that is responsive to user needs, an understanding of the decision-making environment, effective stakeholder engagement, and strategic communication. This article reviews the principles and provides examples from a national and local initiative.
authors.affiliation: Center on Society and Health, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0251; email: swoolf@vcu.edu , simonsm@vcu.edu , ezimmerman@vcu.edu , haleyad@vcu.edu.
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Woolf
authors.forename: Jason Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Purnell
authors.forename: Sarah M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: Gabriela J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Camberos
authors.forename: Amber
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haley
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Fields
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000379:methods; D015438:Health Behavior; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical / Q000379:methods*
keywords: community engagement; dissemination and implementation; health-in-all policies; public health policy; research translation