Helping Health Service Researchers and Policy Makers Speak the Same Language

For decades, health services researchers have grappled with fundamental questions of how research can best inform policy and practice (Roper 1997; Hadley 2000; Epstein 2001; Fielding, Marks et al. 2002; Feder 2003; Bowen, Erickson et al. 2009; Grimshaw, Eccles et al. 2012). Yet researchers and policy makers largely remain “travelers in parallel universes” (Brownson, Royer et al. 2006) or in an “unrequited love affair” (Clancy, Glied et al. 2012). Policy makers may view research as something that is “off the shelf” and immediately ready for use. Researchers may perceive policy making as a singular event (Lomas 1997, 2000a,b, 2007). Educating each about the constraints and benefits of working together can help begin to address these misperceptions and missed opportunities (Coburn 1998; McBride, Coburn et al. 2008). While work coming out of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Eisenberg 2000; Clancy 2003; Clancy, Slutsky et al. 2004) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program (Clancy, Glied et al. 2012; Davis, Gross et al. 2012) provide examples of success, much remains to be done. Understanding and addressing barriers to productive collaboration is key for ensuring that health services research has a wide and enduring impact on how health care is actually delivered, a goal that funders are focused on as well. On April 13, 2012, the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation (CHRT), the Ann Arbor Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for Clinical Management Research, and the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) at the University of Michigan (U-M) cosponsored a symposium to understand the barriers and consider solutions to increasing the impact of health services research on policy and practice (Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation 2012). For our symposium, we defined a “policy maker” in the broadest way; including local, state or federally elected officials, as well as payers, purchasers, practice, and health system leaders. The symposium included panels of policy makers, funders, and researchers. Each panel addressed how academic researchers can more effectively work with policy makers, that is, how they can learn to “speak the same language.” While the literature has shown that there is a variety of pathways that researchers can take to impact policy and that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach or magic bullet that guarantees success (Gold 2009), our symposium focused on providing concrete strategies that academic researchers could apply directly with policy makers. The dialog was robust; participants were candid and engaged. To develop the lessons and recommendations presented here, the symposium was recorded and transcribed. Authors independently identified major themes by reviewing the transcript and then came to a consensus on the final set of recommendations emerging from the symposium. Specific quotes were chosen for their illustrative nature. Key recommendations are presented as four main lessons, with possible solutions.