Very frequently, scientific research is undertaken, completed, written up and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, and once the paper is accepted and published, the authors rest content that their job is done. Not so with operational research where it is vital to know whether the research can enhance the quality, coverage, effectiveness and performance of health systems and programmes and whether as a result, better care is delivered to patients and communities.
Until now, however, simple guidelines have not been available for measuring the success of operational research in influencing policy and practice. To address this need, an international team of experts pulled together their joint experience and published a paper on this subject in the Lancet Infectious Diseases (LID). Led Rony Zachariah from Médecins Sans Frontières, this team of authors included representatives from, The Union, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Imperial College, CDC-Atlanta, The Stop TB Partnership, the Karolinska Institute, Brussels Biotechnology Institute and the Kenya Medical Research Institute.
The paper they produced lays out simple parameters by which to judge and document whether: i) the research has been properly disseminated both at national and international levels; ii) there has been a change in policy and practice as shown by implementation circulars or rapid advice documents, updated national guidelines, updated and adapted monitoring tools or training materials, and evidence of implementation in the field judged during supervision or practice audits; and iii) there has been an improvement in programme performance or a reduction in morbidity and mortality. The paper further suggests that these outputs should be monitored and duly reported on a regular basis to stakeholders, funders and the communities who are to be served by the research.
For further information, please read this article: Zachariah R, Ford N, Maher D, et al. Is operational research delivering the goods? The journey to success in low-income countries. Lancet Infectious Diseases 2012: Published Online February 9th, 2012. DOI: 1016/S1473-3099(11)70309-7.