Can Evidence Reviews Be Made More Responsive to Policymakers?

AcademyHealth’s Translation and Dissemination Institute is working to pilot innovative approaches to quickly, but rigorously identify and communicate evidence to inform public and private decision-making. This poster gives an overview of the Institute’s work and early lessons learned in getting research into the hands of policy makers at the right time, on the right topic, and in an accessible format.

Poster on the Rapid Evidence Review Process

Policymakers need evidence that is responsive, timely, credible and efficient. This poster, presented at the Global Health Symposium in November 2016, shows how evidence reviews can meet policymakers’ needs while highlighting the challenges to keep in mind.

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There is a growing interest in methods of reviewing evidence that replicates the characteristics of a systematic reviews, but in a way that requires fewer resources and emphasizes responsiveness to policymaker needs. This poster lays out methods AcademyHealth’s Translation and Dissemination Institute has used to conduct evidence reviews that quickly, but rigorously identify and communicate evidence to inform public and private decision-making. The poster highlights early lessons learned on how to efficiently conduct reviews, the importance of ongoing engagement with policymakers, and ideas about innovative ways to disseminate findings through one-pagers, infographics and, even edited Wikipedia entries. The poster also lays out AcademyHealth’s Rapid Evidence Reviews Project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.