Policy guidance on threats to legislative interventions in public health: a realist synthesis

Policy guidance on threats to legislative interventions in public health: a realist synthesis

BACKGROUND Legislation is one of the most powerful weapons for improving population health and is often used by policy and decision makers. Little research exists to guide them as to whether legislation is feasible and/or will succeed. We aimed to produce a coherent and transferable evidence based framework of threats to legislative interventions to assist the decision making process and to tes...

Understanding the factors that make public participation effective in health policy and planning: a realist synthesis.

Although researchers argue for the importance of involving the public in developing health policy, there has been little focus on central research questions - such as what techniques of public participation work, in what circumstances, and why. This paper presents a realist synthesis which identifies and explains the underlying mechanisms and specific contextual factors that lead to effective p...

Supporting successful implementation of public health interventions: protocol for a realist synthesis

BACKGROUND There is a growing emphasis in public health on the importance of evidence-based interventions to improve population health and reduce health inequities. Equally important is the need for knowledge about how to implement these interventions successfully. Yet, a gap remains between the development of evidence-based public health interventions and their successful implementation. Conve...

Breaking Gridlock in Health Policy?; Comment on “A New Synthesis”

Pierre-Gerlier Forest has put forward the case that we are on the brink of a revolution in health policy that will be the result of the interplay of five factors. I would not challenge any of them but would emphasize the need to address socio-economic health inequalities, which have the potential to become a major cost driver in a time of growing economic inequality. To Dr. Forest’s list, I wou...

Re-Conceptualising Public Health Interventions in Government: A Response to Recent Commentaries