Rosemary K Rushmer

Knowledge exchange in public health.

With knowledge exchange and translational research a rapidly growing area of research activity and interest in public health, the idea for a mini-symposium arose. Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, and one of six public health research centres of excellence across the United Kingdom, submitted a proposal for a mini-symposium to the editors of Public Health. They responded enthusiastically and a team of three guest editors was assembled. A call for papers was issued in late 2012. The purpose of the mini-symposium was to explore the complexities of knowledge exchange in public health. Despite the growing emphasis on the need for social science research to be relevant, applied and focused on impact, it is neither self-evident whether these demands can be met nor how best to do so especially in the sphere of public health where the evidence base is often hotly contested and subject to multiple interpretations. Decisions at all levels of the health system are influenced by a wide variety of factors, including political, cultural, historical and organizational ones. Moreover, any particular decision may be shaped more by resource constraints or strongly-held ideological beliefs as to what is ‘right’ than by research evidence. This mini-symposium endeavours to explore the conundrum whereby, despite a constant production of research and evidence, its uptake in practice remains decidedly problematic with knowledge exchange and adoption (or adaptation and integration) processes for the most part remaining poorly understood. Following the journal’s usual independent review process, seven paperswere selected to reflect national and international research into knowledge exchange processes in public health. The opening paper by Visram and colleagues explores the linguistic issues surrounding the term ‘knowledge translation’ (KT). As a concept its meaning lacks clarity and a number of terms are used interchangeably and given multiple interpretations which can further confuse determining what KT is with any precision. The paper reports on a study exploring how various public health stakeholders make sense of, and experience, KT and related concepts like knowledge transfer and exchange. These terms are often slippery so it is hardly surprising that a key finding is that the terms themselves are in need of translation. In the paper which follows, Bons-Martens and colleagues explore concept mapping as a method for facilitating a

025 PP: “A FRESH SET OF EYES?” NEGOTIATING THE REALITIES OF EMBEDDED RESEARCH IN PUBLIC HEALTH

In collaboration with Fuse, the Centre for Translational Research in Public Health, a local authority public health department in North East England appointed an embedded researcher as part of a new, innovative approach to increasing research evidence in public health. There were two parts to the researchers role: one to undertake a qualitative evaluation of an ‘integrated wellbeing model’, a preventive, asset-based approach that supports individuals, families and communities to improve their health and wellbeing. The other was to support the use of research evidence in public health more widely. The researcher was based with the public health team 3 days a week for a year until July 2016. This paper explores the reality of this methodological approach in the field of public health, drawing on the perspectives of the host organisation and the embedded researcher. We describe the assumptions underpinning the approach, how collaborative relationships were established, and what they meant. We reflect on the ways in which this research design, data interpretation and reporting were affected. Examples are used to highlight the challenges and opportunities of a University and Local Authority collaborating in this way. We review what we have learned about collaboration, with a view to sharing transferable messages. The aim is to explore the effectiveness of embedded research, and prompt debate about the pros and cons of collaborating in this way, drawing on our experiences.