From the Guidelines
Health care policy briefs play a crucial role in informing policymakers, journalists, and other stakeholders about complex healthcare issues, and their development should prioritize the integration of policy in dissemination and implementation science to improve healthcare access, quality, and outcomes. The importance of policy in shaping healthcare cannot be overstated, as it influences access 1, quality 2, and patient and public health outcomes 3, as noted in a recent study published in Implementation Science 1.
Key Aspects of Health Care Policy Briefs
- They provide succinct overviews of health care policy topics, exploring arguments from varying perspectives of a policy proposal.
- They guide available research behind each perspective, ensuring that decision-makers have access to evidence-based information.
- Experts in the field create these briefs through funding from public and private grants, maintaining their credibility and addressing complex healthcare issues.
The Role of Policy in Dissemination and Implementation Science
The study published in Implementation Science 1 highlights the need for a more central role of policy in dissemination and implementation science (D&I) efforts. Health policies can serve as implementation strategies, facilitate access to evidence-based health services, and represent the evidence-based law or rule at the center of implementation efforts. By conceptualizing the multifaceted roles of policy in D&I research, we can improve empirical measurement of policy-related variables, accelerate the impact of implementation, and develop strategies to de-implement outdated healthcare practices.
Improving Health Care Policy Briefs
To enhance the effectiveness of health care policy briefs, it is essential to prioritize the integration of policy in D&I science, as recommended by the study 1. This involves specifying health policy's role in D&I research, identifying bidirectional roles of actors in the outer and inner context, and developing strategies to de-implement policies that can harm individuals or society. By doing so, health care policy briefs can better inform decision-making processes and contribute to improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes in the United States.
From the Research
Purpose of Health Care Policy Briefs
- Health care policy briefs provide succinct overviews of health care policy topics, exploring arguments from varying perspectives of a policy proposal and guiding available research behind each perspective 2, 3.
- The intended audience is policymakers, journalists, and others concerned about improving health care in the United States.
Creation of Health Care Policy Briefs
- Experts in the field create health care policy briefs through funding from public and private grants.
- Developing a policy brief is one approach that health professionals may use to draw attention to important evidence that relates to policy, by outlining steps such as defining the problem, stating the policy, making a case, and discussing the impact 2.
Importance of Research in Health Policy
- There is a growing expectation that research will be used to inform decision-making, and researchers should understand how health policy is developed and the different ways they can influence the development of policy 3.
- Knowledge translation strategies focused on communicating research to policymakers require considerable thought and planning.
Examples of Health Policy Topics
- Vaccination policies, which have broader health, economic, and child development benefits, and are important from a policy perspective in both low and middle-income countries and high-income settings 4.
- Health care reform, including proposals for universal coverage and the evolution of US health care reform, such as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) 5.
- Preventive services for older adults, including vaccinations and disease screenings, which are important for preventing, forestalling, or mitigating illness 6.