title: Process, pitfalls and profits: lessons from interviewing New Zealand policy-makers.
abstract: Little has been written about interviewing policy-makers in health promotion and public health research. This article explores the process, pitfalls and profits of semi-structured interviews with policy-makers in 10 research projects conducted in New Zealand. Key members of each research team were surveyed about their research and findings verified against research publications. Key aspects of the process of policy-maker interviews include gaining ethical approval, navigating gatekeepers, using personal contacts and multiple research dissemination methods. Pitfalls of interviewing policy-makers include interviewers not having enough knowledge of the topic so efforts were made to use knowledgeable researchers or up-skill others. Interviews provide access to specialist knowledge of the policy process which cannot be obtained by other methods. While this study was conducted in one jurisdiction, it has implications for other countries. Effective policy-maker interviews in health promotion policy research could contribute to improvements in the quality of data collected and uptake of research by policy-makers.
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Louise N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Signal
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sharron G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Bowers
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Whakauae Research for Maori Health and Development, Whanganui, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gifford
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Sheena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Gabrielle L S
authors.initials: GLS
authors.lastname: Jenkin
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Tolotea S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Lanumata
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Marie L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Russell
authors.affiliation: Health Promotion & Policy Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Mat D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Walton
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009520:New Zealand; D011050:Policy Making; D011634:Public Health; D036301:Qualitative Research