Evidence-informed decision making is one of the most common, objective and important health policy research methods used by policy makers. Its purpose is to promote the application and dissemination of research knowledge on health policy and systems to change traditional and subjective models of health policy making in order to improve national and regional health systems. Three elements will influence the effectiveness of health policy making:research evidence, available health resources and the value of policy formulation. This paper introduces some pragmatic evidence-based approaches, especially systematic reviews, priority setting and a combined approach matrix (CAM). Systematic reviews have a b impact on the decision process for policy makers. We hope that the application and development of evidence-informed methods will increase in China’s health policy research.
The Campbell Library is a database of preserving and promoting systematic reviews on social sciences for the purpose of providing evidence-informed decision making. This article introduces the foundation, development, major contents and search methods of the Campbell Library, so as to provide resources and technologies in the field of social sciences as well as new ideas for the development of evidence-based practice in China.
A well-conducted evidence-based guideline not only considers the efficiency and the cost of the recommended intervention, but also the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention during implementation. Systematic reviews of qualitative research aim to provide qualitative evidence such as the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. In developing evidence-based guidelines, qualitative evidence helps to:(1) Define the scope of guideline; (2) Assess the acceptability of interventions; (3) Assess the feasibility of interventions; (4) Identify considerations when implementing guidelines. Systematic reviews provide the fundamental evidence required to develop robust and trustworthy guidelines. The CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach aims to grade the evidence from systematic reviews of qualitative research. After critically and scientifically appraising by CERQual, the acceptance and feasibility of an intervention are given different grading, which is the critical process of developing evidence-based guidelines. This paper will demonstrate the value of systematic reviews of qualitative research in developing evidence-based guidelines and how to implement recommendations from qualitative evidence.