Researchers have converged in Accra for a two-day national research dissemination forum to discuss the theme: “Evidence based decision making-the role of operations research.”

The forum seeks to bring to the fore the contribution of research findings to policy decisions, and their potentials for the implementation of health interventions, and offers the much needed opportunity for researchers and potential users to interact and deliberate on generated information and also explore areas for further research work and collaboration.

Professor Irene Akua Agyapong, Specialist in Public Health at the Research and Development Division of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said research plays an important role in influencing Evidence Informed Policy (EIP) formulation for national development.

She said notwithstanding this critical position, researchers must be able to contextualise their recommendations taking into account the political, social and historical backgrounds of the health sector.

This, she said was important as there exist complex adaptive structures and systems within the health sector, which were interconnected and could therefore not be easily isolated.

Prof Agyapong said going forward to overcome the challenges to a systematic approach to translating health research findings into actions, researchers must carefully select research topics that would inform policy and they must also understand and factor social science and political models into their thinking.

She said additionally researchers ought to revise their expectations accordingly, and factor into their projects timeliness as a matter of importance. She urged them not to be easily discouraged over a lack of immediate uptake of their work, but to pursue awareness and use of windows of opportunity.

Multi-disciplinary research and making room for the social sciences, saying answering question of feasibility, legitimacy and social support among other things matter just as much as answering effectiveness questions, therefore there is no fixed “gold standard” of research methodology and evidence in EIP.

“We therefore need to balance our research methodology biases and preferences,” and also ensure a healthy relationship building with decision makers and implementers, as well as an understanding of their “world” and “perspectives”, she said.

Prof Agyapong said evidence could be subjective, objective or both and in their expectation of decision makers to translate health research findings into action, must be meticulous in the kinds of evidence they present them with, as they would be justified, depending upon the kind of evidence they present them with, to necessarily expect a decision based solely or predominantly on that evidence.

Dr Linda Vanotoo, the Regional Director, GHS, said research was critical to quality health outcomes, but with current resource constraints globally, it was good to do things in a targeted manner. Dr Abraham Hodgson, Director of Research at the GHS, said the Research and Development Division was one of the 10 section under the GHS mandated to undertake research into health problems facing Ghanaians and make recommendations to inform policy decisions.

He said the Department intended to hold annual dissemination forums as a way of sharing and communicating research information, but has been resource constrained and the current programme marks the fourth in the series since it was instituted in 2003.

He said the studies to be presented cover a wide range of areas including health system strengthening, health financing, health information systems, service delivery, communicable and non-communicable diseases and disease surveillance, maternal, neonatal and child health as well as sexual and reproductive health, after, which the GHS Research Agenda would be launched.

Dr Owen Kaluwa, the WHO Country Representative, the current health situation in the African Region calls for a decision-making approach that was firmly grounded on the best available scientific evidence from all the other sectors which influence the social and environmental determinants for health.

He said WHO recognises and places a lot of importance on health research, because evidence provides the foundation for setting priorities, defining strategies and measuring results, and affirmed WHO commitment to supporting efforts in strengthening health research.

Source: GNA