Research for Health Policy

This A-Z book aims to equip the reader with the practical knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to deliver powerful research evidence for health policy-makers, in the government, not-for-profit, and private sectors. It focuses on describing the genre of policy-relevant research in a heuristic, practice-based way.

Individuals working in health research want to be able to use their findings to influence health policy. However, frequently, research evidence remains detached from practice, and there is a divide between research and policy. Research for Health Policy is an introduction to the emerging genre of applied research for policy decision-making, offering new research methods that go far beyond the traditional classical experimental techniques and standard qualitative methods. This highly practical and practice-based book is relevant to researchers in different disciplines and countries, and it will equip the reader with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to deliver policy-relevant research in the government, not-for-profit, and private sectors. As a book that helps its reader to develop the blend of strategic people skills, methodological inventiveness, research entrepreneurship, creative design, and policy writing know-how that is critical to delivering useful research evidence for policy, Research for Health Policy is essential reading for anyone doing, studying or teaching health policy advocacy and research. It also has much to offer postgraduate and professional development students and their educators who want to move beyond the common undergraduate focus on policy content areas and policy theory/process, to learn more advanced practical research skills for policy-making.