Knowledge Translation & Healthcare Policy

Policy and decision makers continue to be faced with difficult choices regarding which technologies provide the best value for money and which are valued most by society. To assist in making these difficult choices, increasing attention is being devoted to evidence-based platforms to facilitate more rational and transparent decision making. Although PATH has significant expertise in conducting trials and literature reviews, this information still needs to effectively delivered, and decision makers will need assistance in determining how best to use this information for funding and healthcare policy decision making. 

To this end PATH is very active in both the development of effective knowledge translation approaches and in implementing these techniques for our own research findings and products. We employ a number of approaches to distribute, disseminate and increase the impact of our research and study findings. Some of these approaches include more traditional techniques such as scientific journals, conference presentations, technical reports and web-based communication. For example PATH researchers have over 300 publications in respected peer-reviewed journals and have presented over 300 presentations at international conferences and symposiums. PATH members also sit on a number of editorial boards of key HTA journals, and are highly sought after as peer-reviewers for conferences, grant competitions and journal article submissions. PATH members sit on a number of national and provincial government decision making bodies where they have successfully tested effective knowledge dissemination and translation strategies.

In terms of healthcare policy, PATH members have been very active in forming policy recommendations in the province of Ontario and in recommending changes to existing policy to improve system efficiency. As PATH is the only official partner in HTA with Canada’s national HTA agency (CADTH), PATH is also very active in the dissemination of HTA findings and recommendations at a national level that impacts policy and decision making throughout the Canadian healthcare system.