The Sax Institute presents a new conference on knowledge mobilisation in Sydney on July 4-5. The conference will focus on the best ways to increase the use and impact of evidence in policymaking, including the processes, resources and skills needed.

SURE addresses many of the concerns of public data custodians and of human research ethics committees in approving the use in research of de-identified personal data, and is enabling research that might not otherwise have been possible.

Measuring the impact of research is receiving ever-greater priority from research institutes, funding bodies and even researchers themselves. Yet an over-emphasis on many commonly used impact metrics can paradoxically encourage short-term thinking that camouflages the real value of research.
 

That was the message from celebrated UK academic and widely published researcher Professor Trish Greenhalgh, who addressed a packed lecture hall at the University of Sydney on the tensions inherent in measuring research impact and lessons from the UK experience.

One of our main aims is to build ways for researchers, policymakers and practitioners to ensure policy and practice are based on the best available evidence. Our new training program is designed to develop skills in using research and evaluation in policy and practice and for working collaboratively.

The Prevention Division of Queensland Health has worked with the Sax Institute’s Decision Analytics team to develop a dynamic simulation model to inform its smoking reduction strategy. The model tested the likely impact of proposed policy interventions over time.

With more than a quarter of Australian adolescents currently considered overweight or obese, robust targets to reduce prevalence have been set. This Evidence Check review identified recent evidence for effective community-based approaches for adolescent obesity prevention in Australia 

This review identified barriers and enablers to the implementation of a patient centred medical home model. Five central themes emerge: policy settings and funding incentives; transformation and change management; care coordination beyond the practice; health information technology; data and performance measurement.