A core question for policy-makers will be the extent to which investments
in preventive actions that address some of the social determinants of health
represent an effi cient option to help promote and protect population health.
Can they reduce the level of ill health in the population? How strong is the...
Policy-makers, stakeholders and knowledge brokers (including researchers) all
have a great deal they can learn from one another. Policy-makers need access
to good-quality health systems information that they can apply to a local issue.
Stakeholders may seek to influence health policy as well as make deci...
While there is a considerable body of health systems information being
generated, it is often not being used as a key input in the policy-making
process. The BRIDGE systematic review highlights several examples of health
systems information: not being used at all, being only partially used, being
used to...
Over the past three decades, Canada has made
substantial progress in reducing the national rate of
avoidable mortality (deaths that could potentially have
been avoided through disease prevention or
healthcare services). In fact, the national avoidable
mortality rate has decreased by half – from 373 per...
Effective pandemic governance is more important now than
ever as pandemic risk factors like urbanization, the
hypermobility of persons, trans-border trade, rapid
population growth and changes to the environment and
food systems all increase in tandem with the demands of
globalization.(1) These transforma...
For concerned citizens and influential thinkers and doers, the McMaster Health Forum
strives to be a leading hub for improving health outcomes through collective problem
solving. Operating at the regional/provincial level and at national levels, the Forum
harnesses information, convenes stakeholders and ...
McMaster University has many excellent programs and
services in place to address student mental health needs.
These services are offered through the Student Affairs
office that is responsible for presenting McMaster
students with opportunities to “discover, learn, and
grow.”(4) Mental health services...
Most existing organizational models for knowledge brokering comprise
a set of design features that reflect an evolving effort, typically by
researchers and research organizations, to balance a variety of competing
objectives such as independence and relevance. These design features are
rarely selected to...
Improving end-of-life communication, decision-making
and care has been identified as a pressing health issue in
Ontario (and in Canada more generally), as evidenced
by recent research,(1;2) public opinion polls,(3) expert
panels and commissions,(4-6) and a high-profile legal
case,(7) which have revealed ...
There is a general lack of attention given to ‘what to do next’ to advance
knowledge brokering in many European countries’ health systems. Four sets
of interrelated issues can contribute to this problem within any given country’s
health system....
