Evidence in Planning Presented at the Data Leading to Action-From Chaos to Clarity Symposium Winnipeg, January 19-20, 2009 Dexter Harvey

Generic Principles in Health Promotion - participation - holistic - equitable - sustainable - intersectoral multi-strategy to address complexity - capacity building

Definition of Research A detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new) information or reach a (new) understanding. Cambridge Dictionaries online, Cambridge University Press 2003 The word “research” is used to describe a number of similar and often overlapping activities involving a search for information.

RESEARCH TYPEESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS 1. Find the number or percentage of Grade 6 students in Beetle Bailey School who are moderately physically active. A search for individual facts or data. May be part of the search for a solution to a larger problem or simply the answer to a single question. Concerned with facts rather than knowledge or analysis and answers can normally be found in a single source. 2. Find out what is known generally about a fairly specific topic. “Are the grade six student physical activity rates at Beetle Bailey School higher or lower than other grade six students in Manitoba. A report or review, not designed to create new information or insight but to collate and synthesize existing information. A summary of the past. Answers can typically be found in a selection of books, articles, and Web sites. [Note: gathering this information may often include activities like #1 above.] 3. Gather evidence to determine whether physical activity is related to academic performance. Gathering and analyzing a body of information or data and extracting new meaning from it or developing unique solutions to problems or cases. This is "real" research and requires an open-ended question for which there is no ready answer. [Note: this will always include #2 above and usually #1. It may also involve gathering new data through experiments, surveys, or other techniques.]

CATEGORIES OF EVIDENCE T Context-free scientific evidence = medically oriented effectiveness research T Context-sensitive scientific evidence = social science oriented research T Colloquial evidence = expertise, views and realities of stakeholders Lomas, et al (2005)

Sources of Evidence Surveillance Data—Web Sites Grey Literature-Project Reports Systematic Reviews of Multiple Intervention Studies—Web Sites Intervention Research Study—Web Sites Program Evaluation—Web Sites Expert Opinion—Web Sites Word of Mouth Personal Experience Collectively Constructed Multi-Sectoral Data Syntheses

Roles of “Evidence” in HP Practice? 1. What contributions should/can “evidence” make in HP practice? “Evidence” is an integral part of, and makes different contributions, to each phase of HP practice 1. Pre-planning: Setting the stage 2. Planning the response 3. Implementing the response 4. Evaluating the response Different kinds of “evidence” make different contributions

Roles of “Evidence” HP Planning (cont.) 2. What kinds of “evidence” are needed in planning HP? The nature & sources of evidence differ for each phase of HP practice The evidence required for planning HP “in general” differs from that required for planning responses to specific issues, problems, settings, etc. The evidence & sources of evidence differ for different issues, problems, settings, etc

Phases/steps in Health Promotion Practice Phase 1: Pre-planning: Setting the stage Identifying the issue Determining the importance of the issue Understanding the nature & origins of the issue Phase 2: Planning the response/initiative Identifying alternative responses/initiatives to the issue Selecting response/initiative Designing/developing response/initiative Phase 3: Implementing the response/initiative Phase 4: Evaluating the response/initiative Evaluation Feedback

Process of Knowing: Road to “Working Knowledge” Collaborative Learning: Based on the idea that learning is a social act in which the participants talk among themselves. (Gerlach,1994) It is a joint intellectual effort among users, experts, researchers, resource units, etc. Participants work to solve a problem. Thus “we learn as we go.”

Process of Knowing cont. Process of Knowing: engages the users of information in the searching for it, sharing it, and making sense of it. The practice-based evidence approach is about generating evidence from and for practice using participatory processes in ‘real’ settings.

Working Knowledge Knowledge adequate for practical use- influenced by personal and environmental contexts

Integrated Knowledge Construction Policy & Program Implementation Policy & Program Decision Making Context Experience Working Knowledge Practice-Based Evidence Research Monitoring & Evaluation Surveillance

Where evidence is needed Community Analyses Priority Setting Setting Overall Objectives Planning Implementation Evaluation Revision

Evidence Informed Decision Making Data--Information--Evidence--Knowledge