EvidenceNetwork.ca: Translating knowledge in 700 words or less

We are awash in a sea of unread journal articles

“An average paper in a peer-reviewed academic journal is read by no more than 10 people, according to Singapore-based academic Asit Biswas and Oxford researcher Julian Kirchherr, in their controversial commentary “Prof, No One Is Reading You,” which went viral last year. They cite some remarkable statistics: as many as 1.5 million peer-reviewed articles are published annually, with as many as 82 percent never cited once, not even by other academics. In other words, most academic writing rarely influences thinking beyond the privileged circles in which it is constructed — and the vast majority of it is far from influencing public policy and debate on critical issues.”

This is the opener to a compelling essay, “Linking academic research with the public and policy-makers” by Kathleen O’Grady and Noralou Roos of EvidenceNetwork.ca. This year, EvidenceNetwork.ca celebrates its fifth anniversary, and for the last three years, our knowledge translation (KT) platform at the Centre for Healthcare Innovation has had the pleasure of being a partner in their efforts. In this blog post, we will draw from the above essay to introduce how EvidenceNetwork.ca came to be, and highlight the role it plays in translating research via the media to impact healthcare policy in Canada.

The truth is, few beyond the academy know or read academic journals.

As O’Grady and Roos see it: “It would be a small — but critical — step for academics to tell audiences why their research matters. Presumably much of the research in journal articles would and should matter to those beyond academic circles, particularly those who are in the business of creating policy… The founders [of EvidenceNetwork.ca], academics Noralou Roos and Sharon Manson Singer, were frustrated that research they knew well in the field of Canadian health policy seemed only rarely to make it into the mainstream media” (with a few notable exceptions, the authors note). In 2011, Roos and Manson Singer decided to find out why relevant health research was not being routinely shared in the media and what could be done about it.

“In consultation with our academic experts, we discovered that academics often worry they’ll lose control of the message and of the way their research is represented…at the same time, we learned from our media advisers that academics often fail to heed the tone, style of language and breadth of discussion permitted in submission to media outlets. From this tension was born the idea to help our academic partners craft op-eds, the opinion-based commentaries that appear in most media outlets. Op-eds frequently influence politicians, policy-makers and other decision makers.”

This idea became EvidenceNetwork.ca; a network that would mediate relationships between researchers and the media and provide rigorous editorial services. A bridge to ensure that the best evidence is available and accessible to guide health policy discussions.

Facts about EvidenceNetwork.ca

• EvidenceNetwork.ca’s main tool, the Op-Ed, is a 650 to 700-word opinion piece that packages the latest evidence on a range of topics in a format ready for publication in the mainstream media.
• Op-Eds are written by individuals with expertise in the topic area; EvidenceNetwork.ca provides guidance on Op-Ed structure, facilitates fact-checking by other recognized individuals in the field, and professionally edits the piece prior to submission to media outlets.
• Other tools that are used to summarize evidence include media backgrounders, podcasts, videos, infographics and e-books, which are an annual compilation of EvidenceNetwork’s Op-Eds.
• The University of Manitoba’s Noralou Roos adds the creation of EvidenceNetwork.ca as one more accomplishment to an impressive list that includes: co-founding the Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, involvement in setting up the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and induction into the Order of Canada (promoted to an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2016).

To help celebrate EvidenceNetwork.ca’s fifth anniversary, we will highlight some ‘top fives’ in an upcoming post. Until then, you can sign up for their newsletter, follow them on Twitter, Facebook, check out their YouTube channel, subscribe to their group on LinkedIn, and catch-up on the last five years of Op-Eds via their e-book collection.

The beginnings of a global movement

I’ll end by drawing one last quote from the article featured in today’s post: “It’s about time for a global movement that pushes academic evidence out into the world in an accessible format so that it does not sit idle behind journal paywalls but makes a difference in the world in which we live. We all benefit when research is read widely and discussed soundly. It’s how we can make sure evidence matters.”

This essay is adapted from the e-book, Why We Need More Canadian Health Policy in the Media, edited by Noralou Roos, Kathleen O’Grady, Eileen Boriskewich, Mélanie Meloche-Holubowski, Carolyn Shimmin, Kristy Wittmeier and Nanci Armstrong — available on Kindle, Apple, Google, PDF and other formats. The essay was also featured in Policy Options (August 1, 2016).

About the Author

Kristy Wittmeier previously served as the Centre for Healthcare Innovation’s Knowledge Translation Platform Director, while also serving as the Physiotherapy Innovations & Best Practice Coordinator for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Her areas of interest include pediatric health and wellness, and advancing patient-oriented research and evidence-based KT in Manitoba.