Publications

Although there is a general agreement on the benefits of evidence informed health policy development given resource constraints especially in Low-Income Countries (LICs), the definition of what evidence is, and what evidence is suitable to guide decision-making is still unclear. Our study is contributing to filling this knowledge gap. We aimed to explore health policy actors’ views regarding what evidence they deemed appropriate to guide health policy development. Read More: Evidence for informing health policy development in Low-income Countries (LICs): perspectives of policy actors in Uganda – PMC (nih.gov)

There is a shortage and maldistribution of medically trained health professionals to deliver cost-effective maternal and child health (MCH) services. Hence, cost-effective MCH services are not available to over half the population of Uganda and progress toward the Millennium Development Goals for MCH is slow. Optimizing the roles of less specialized health workers (“task shifting”) is one strategy to address the shortage and maldistribution of more specialized health professionals. Read more: Task shifting in maternal and child health care: An evidence brief for Uganda | International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care | Cambridge Core

Demand for rapid evidence-based syntheses to inform health policy and systems decision-making has increased worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To promote use of rapid syntheses in LMICs, the WHO’s Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) created the Embedding Rapid Reviews in Health Systems Decision-Making (ERA) Initiative. Following a call for proposals, four LMICs were selected (Georgia, India, Malaysia and Zimbabwe) and supported for 1 year to embed rapid response platforms within a public institution with a health policy or systems decision-making mandate. Read More: Embedding rapid reviews in health policy and systems decision-making: Impacts and lessons learned from four low- and middle-income countries | Health Research Policy and Systems (springer.com)

Despite the recognition of the importance of evidence-informed health policy and practice, there are still barriers to translating research findings into policy and practice. The present study aimed to establish the feasibility of a rapid response mechanism, a knowledge translation strategy designed to meet policymakers’ urgent needs for evidence about health systems in a low income country, Uganda. Rapid response mechanisms aim to address the barriers of timeliness and relevance of evidence at the time it is needed. Read More: Feasibility of a rapid response mechanism to meet policymakers’ urgent needs for research evidence about health systems in a low income country: a case study | Implementation Science (springer.com)

This policy brief discusses findings from a case study conducted to illustrate how evidence from an evaluation informed decision- and policymaking of a major reform, the amendment of the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act in Uganda. The evaluation was managed by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of implementation of public procurement. This evaluation sought to address important knowledge gaps in the implementation of the procurement act before it was gazetted. Read More: Evaluation-Evidence-for-Public-Procurement-Policy-making-in-Uganda.pdf (twendembele.org)

Drop out of presumptive TB individuals before making a final diagnosis poses a danger to the individual and their community. We aimed to determine the proportion of these presumptive TB drop outs and their associated factors in Bugembe Health Centre, Jinja, Uganda. Read More: Pre-diagnostic drop out of presumptive TB patients and its associated factors at Bugembe Health Centre IV in Jinja, Uganda | African Health Sciences (ajol.info)

The Rapid Response Service (RRS) is a knowledge translation service in Uganda that responds to a decision maker’s needs for evidence with synthesised relevant evidence, contextualised and summarised in an accessible package. The RRS was set up in 2010 at the Regional East African Health Policy Initiative, Uganda node, at Makerere University, and has supported over 65 policy processes at the national and district levels. This chapter follows three cases where this evidence was used to inform policy or practice, one involving the RRS at national level, the mandatory food fortification policy, and two at district level, focusing on community distribution of misoprostol to women and reducing the turnaround time for Gene Xpert results, both in Mukono District. Read More: 15031-3777f.indd (oapen.org)

Rapid reviews have emerged as an approach to provide contextualized evidence in a timely and efficient manner. Three rapid review centers were established in Ethiopia, Lebanon, and South Africa through the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization, to stimulate demand, engage policymakers, and produce rapid reviews to support health policy and systems decision-making. This study aimed to assess the experiences of researchers and policymakers engaged in producing and using rapid reviews for health systems strengthening and decisions towards universal health coverage (UHC). Read More: Paper 1: Demand-driven rapid reviews for health policy and systems decision-making: lessons from Lebanon, Ethiopia, and South Africa on researchers and policymakers’ experiences | Systematic Reviews (springer.com)

Demand for rapid evidence-based syntheses to inform health policy and systems decision-making has increased worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To promote use of rapid syntheses in LMICs, the WHO’s Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) created the Embedding Rapid Reviews in Health Systems Decision-Making (ERA) Initiative. Following a call for proposals, four LMICs were selected (Georgia, India, Malaysia and Zimbabwe) and supported for 1 year to embed rapid response platforms within a public institution with a health policy or systems decision-making mandate. Read More: Embedding rapid reviews in health policy and systems decision-making: Impacts and lessons learned from four low- and middle-income countries | Health Research Policy and Systems (springer.com)