SURE

Supporting the Use of Research Evidence (SURE) for Policy in African Health Systems

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Inadequate access to and use of research evidence to inform health policy limits the achievement of universal and equitable access to healthcare, hinders quality improvement and makes it difficult to use healthcare resources wisely. Poorly informed decision-making about health policies and systems is one of the reasons why services fail to reach those most in need, health indicators are off track, and it appears unlikely that many countries in Africa will meet the health MDGs. SURE will support improvements in health policies and systems in low and middle-income countries (LMIC) by improving access to and use of policy-relevant syntheses of research evidence that are contextualized and tailored to meet the needs of decision makers. SURE will develop, pilot and evaluate five strategies designed to strengthen access to and use of reliable and timely research syntheses in policymaking: user friendly formats for research syntheses, clearing houses for syntheses and policy relevant research, mechanisms for responding rapidly to policymakers’ needs for research evidence, methods for organizing and managing deliberative forums involving policymakers, researchers and others, and methods for involving civil society and the public in policy development. SURE will develop capacity for evidence-informed healthcare policy and undertake a comparative evaluation of initiatives between policymakers and researchers using these and other strategies. SURE will collaborate with the Evidence-Informed Health Policy Network (EVIPNet) and the Regional East African Community Health (REACH) Policy Initiative–two international efforts to improve the use of research evidence in policy and health systems decisions via partnerships between policymakers, researchers and civil society. SURE will use a range of dissemination strategies. Global dissemination will be coordinated by and capitalise on WHO, with the aim of maximising the project’s impact on health policy in Africa and othe'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Improving health care in Africa requires policymaking that is based on research evidence that is often inaccessible or incomprehensible for policymakers. An EU-funded project aimed to make research more accessible to policymakers.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

The project http://www.who.int/evidence/sure/en/ (SURE) (Supporting the use of research evidence (SURE) for policy in African health systems) was designed as a collaborative effort. Their aim was to build on and support initiatives such as EVIPNet in Africa, ZAMFOHR (Zambia) and REACH (East Africa).

Project work strengthened the use of evidence in policy decisions through partnerships among policymakers, researchers and civil society.

SURE evaluated the effectiveness of several complementary strategies. These included user-friendly access to information, clearinghouses for policy-relevant research, rapid response mechanisms to meet policymakers' needs for timely information, forums for policymakers and researchers, and ways to make research accessible to the general public.

Project members successfully developed about 35 evidence-based policy briefs addressing priority issues in a user-friendly format. These were evaluated by African partners in policy dialogues.

In countries like Burkina Faso and Uganda, rapid response systems to reach policymakers quickly are already operational. These systems were also pilot-tested in countries like Cameroon and Zambia and further optimised.

Another major accomplishment was the completion of two clearinghouses: the http://global.evipnet.org/ (EVIPNet Virtual Health Library), a meta-search engine, and http://www.pdq-evidence.org/ (PDQ-Evidence), a database. They provide quick and easy access to evidence for policy-relevant research on health systems. Furthermore, SURE held workshops, traineeships and other capacity-building activities to support effective usage of research evidence.

SURE compiled the resources developed during the project in SURE Guides and videos that are available in an online package on the project website. Along with EVIPNet and REACH networks, they created a critical mass of expertise on effectively using research evidence in health care decision making. Moreover, SURE resources and tools are versatile and can also be implemented in regions beyond Africa.

The percentage of deaths in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is far higher in comparison to developed countries. SURE has facilitated more equitable health care access policies and helped LMICs improve their health status, thereby reducing poverty and improving quality of life.