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Evidence-informed health policy: Information sources
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support tools
Evidence-informed health policy is part of a general trend by the Australian Government towards embedding research evidence in policy decision-making. However, locating relevant and reliable evidence in a rapidly expanding array of information is both time- and resource-intensive for researchers and policy-makers alike.
A comprehensive series of articles on finding and using research evidence to inform health policy was developed by the SUPporting POlicy relevant Reviews and Trials (SUPPORT) project, an international collaboration funded by the European Commission.
The 18 SUPPORT Tools provide advice on finding and using research evidence at each stage of a policy cycle: 1) clarifying problems 2) framing options and 3) planning implementation. This infoByte is intended as a companion to the SUPPORT Tools for Australian users and provides links to sources of evidence and data specific to Australian primary health care.
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POLICY STAGE
Clarifying a problem
What is the extent of the problem?
What indicators can be used to establish the magnitude of the problem and to measure progress in addressing it?
What comparisons can be made between sub groups in the Australian population?
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INFORMATION SOURCES
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The ABS website contains a wealth of epidemiological data.
Australian Commission on Quality and Safety in Healthcare
A number of publications, including systematic reviews on primary health care and hospital practices relating to quality and safety.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
The AIHW has many publications on aspects of health and health services. See also their Interactive Online Data.
Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APHCRI)
APHCRI, which is located at the Australian National University in Canberra, conducts a broad range of research in primary health care. Systematic reviews and other reports and publications are available from this website.
Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH)
The Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre collects data on clinical activities in Australian general practices, including GP characteristics and patient consultations.
Divisions of General Practice reporting data and Annual Survey of Divisions
PHC RIS collects, analyses and synthesises data from the Divisions of General Practice on behalf of the Department of Health & Ageing.
General Practice workforce statistics
General Practice workforce statistics are provided by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.
Medicare Statistics
Medicare Australia provides reports on statistics on Medicare items, by patient demographic or MBS groups.
Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL)
The MABEL survey comprises data (2008, 2009) on a wide range of aspects of the working patterns of the medical workforce, including GPs, specialists and hospital doctors. An annual administrative fee is required to access the data.
Social Health Atlas of Australia
The Public Health Information Development Unit (PHIDU), located at The University of Adelaide, provides information on a broad range of health determinants and publishes statistics for monitoring inequality in health and wellbeing.
WHO Global Health Observatory
The Global Health Observatory provides data and analyses on key health themes, including global mortality and burden of disease.
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Assessing options
What options are there to address the problem?
What benefits and harms are associated with each option?
Is there information about costs and cost effectiveness of each option?
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The Campbell Collaboration
Inspired by the Cochrane Collaboration, the Campbell Collaboration seeks to help policymakers, practitioners, and the public make informed decisions about policy interventions by preparing, maintaining, and disseminating systematic reviews of the effectiveness of social and behavioural interventions in education, crime and justice, and social welfare.
Cochrane Library
Members of the Cochrane Collaboration conduct systematic reviews of healthcare interventions that are published online in the Cochrane Library and updated periodically. The Cochrane Library includes 92 systematic reviews on effective practice and the organisation of health care.
Cochrane Library Economic Evaluation Database
The Cochrane Library Economic Evaluation Database provides a list of reviews that have had, or are undergoing, an economic evaluation.
Pub Med
A publicly available, searchable database of health and medical literature.
Pub Med Clinical Queries
This Pub Med filter specifically locates systematic reviews.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query/static/clinical.shtml#reviews
Pub Med Health Services Research Queries
This filter restricts Pub Med searches to health services research.
Health-evidence.ca
A Canadian website that supports evidence-informed decision making in public health by providing a searchable registry of systematic and narrative reviews.
Health Systems Evidence
Health Systems Evidence is maintained by the McMaster Health Forum in Canada. It is a repository of systematic reviews on aspects of governance, financial and delivery arrangements within health systems, and about implementation strategies that can support change in health systems. Each review has an AMSTAR rating for quality.
Joanna Briggs Institute
The Institute, located in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide, promotes and supports evidence-based healthcare by providing access to resources for professionals in nursing, midwifery, medicine, and allied health.
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Implementation
What are the potential barriers to successful implementation of a policy?
Which stakeholder views and experiences might influence the acceptability of an option?
What strategies should be considered to facilitate behaviour change in a target group and/or organisational and system changes?
How can a problem be framed or described in a way that will motivate different groups?
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Health Systems Evidence
As described above, Health Systems Evidence also provides information on implementation strategies.
Pub Med Health Services Research Queries
This Pub Med filter locates qualitative research.
Rx for Change
Operated by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health, the Rx for Change database summarises current research evidence about the effects of strategies to improve drug prescribing practice and drug use.
OTHER USEFUL SOURCES
The Commonwealth Fund
The Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation that aims to promote a high performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, including low-income people, the uninsured, minority Americans, young children, and elderly adults. An international program in health policy is designed to stimulate innovative policies and practices in the United States and other industrialised countries.
European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
The Observatory is a partnership between the WHO regional office for Europe and various European countries and organisations. The Observatory supports and promotes evidence-based health policy-making through comprehensive and rigorous analysis of the dynamics of health care systems in Europe.
Health Policy Monitor
A 20-country project, initiated 2002, associated with the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
OECD provides a setting where governments of countries committed to democracy and the market economy compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practice and coordinate domestic and international policies. Visit ‘statistics portal’ to find links to dynamic maps, charts and assorted factbooks.
Policy Pointers
Policypointers is an online facility created to enable those involved in government, academe and the media to gain rapid access to the research and conclusions of think tanks, institutes and government departments around the world.
World Health Organization (WHO)
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This page provides a guide to sources of evidence to support evidence-informed policy making. It has been adapted, with permission, from a guide produced for the McMaster Health Forum in Canada.
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