Background: The Medical Model of disability focuses on diagnosed conditions. It is used in policy particularly to categorise people. This enables predictions and forecasting about the size of policy needs but tends to homogenise disability representations, assigning a negative evaluation to illness that may be irrespective of patho-anatomical…

Background: Fuse was established in 2008 as one of five public health research centres of excellence in the UK funded by the UK Clinical Research Centres collaboration. The centre works across five universities in the North East of England. This is an innovative collaboration and enables the pooling of research expertise. A prime focus of the…

Despite a burgeoning literature and the development of new theories about knowledge mobilisation in the past 15 years, findings from this online survey in 2014 of over 100 research agencies (n=106; response rate 57%) show the challenges of making effective use of formal and informal learning. Many agencies rely on traditional knowledge…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceived usefulness of a diabetes economic model as a potential tool for aiding evidence-based decision making in public health. Methods: Fifteen interviews and two focus groups, with four participants in each, were conducted with health and management professionals working in one public health…

The drive for sector-led improvement within children's services has a more prominent place in improving outcomes for children and young people than ever before. Concurrently, the imperative to access and utilise evidence to inform practice has become increasingly important, enabling scarce resources to be allocated according to "what…

Background/aims/objectives: 'Embedded' approaches to knowledge mobilisation are gaining currency, as health and social care services come under increasing pressure to redesign services now rather than wait for research. One such approach is the 'Researcher-in-Residence' (RiR) model which seeks to co-produce knowledge for action. The aim of this…

Much of the evidence translation literature focuses narrowly on the use of evidence in the initial policy formulation stages, and downplays the crucial role of institutions and the inherently political nature of policy making. More recent approaches acknowledge the importance of institutional and political factors, but make no attempt to…

This paper examines notions of power in relation to evidence-informed policy making and explores four key areas. First, I outline contemporary conceptualisations of how power operates in society; second, I spotlight the implications of power inequalities for how evidence is used by policy makers (and present the policy "agora"; a…

Many studies on evidence-based policy are still clinging to a linear model. Instead, we propose to understand expertise and evidence as "socially embedded" in authority relations and cultural contexts. Policy-relevant facts are the result of an intensive and complex struggle for political and epistemic authority. This is especially true…

This paper describes the collaborative application of three theoretical models for supporting service planning (Hunter, 2006), programme planning (Chorpita et al, 2005a), and implementation (Meyers et al, 2012) to develop and implement a Resilience Practice Framework (RPF). Specifically, we (1) describe a theory of change framework (Hunter, 2006)…

Support for producing systematic reviews about health systems is less well developed than for those about clinical practice. From interviewing policy makers and systematic reviewers we identified institutional mechanisms which bring systematic reviews and policy priorities closer by harnessing organisational and individual motivations, emphasising…

The article describes and analyses some preliminary working methods for user involvement in child welfare. The models are based on the results of a national project in Sweden where children and young people have been involved as informants. How experiences and viewpoints from children and young people can be a source of knowledge in child welfare…

The phrase "knowledge adoption" refers to the often-complicated process by which policy makers "take on board" evidence. While models have been put forward to explain this activity, this paper argues that such models are flawed and fail to fully address those complexities affecting the successful realisation of knowledge…

This paper reports on a "proof-of-concept" for evidence-informed practice, whereby schools are provided with tailored support in accessing research evidence and help in implementing evidence-based approaches. Two aspects of intermediary brokerage are explored: (a) creating tailored summary materials for schools, based on education…

The precautionary principle recommends, in the face of pressing but unquantifiable threats, that decision makers should not wait indefinitely for the backing of evidence. As such, it represents another potential challenge to the turbulent fortunes of evidence-based policy. Through four contrasting case studies, this paper examines this challenge…