Charting an Interdisciplinary Course to Advance Policy D&I and Reduce the Research to Policy Gap

Erika Crable, PhD
University of California San Diego

ABSTRACT:
The ‘research to policy gap’ describes the failure to translate research findings into real-world, evidence-informed policies. This gap is dangerous to health systems and population health, but dissemination and implementation science (D&I) is poised to address this pervasive problem by designing effective strategies that promote evidence-informed policy and policy implementation success. To be most efficient while advancing science, policy D&I efforts must meaningfully draw from lessons learned in other fields. This presentation will discuss: (1) how different social science disciplines have studied the research to policy gap, (2) how those theories and methods can be incorporated into policy D&I efforts, and (3) highlight an example of a current policy dissemination study at this multidisciplinary intersection. We hope to foster a discussion about challenges in studying policy and policy-level factors, and practical multidisciplinary research approaches to advance policy D&I.