Dr. Yousef Al-Jeesh and Mr. Mohammed Al-Khaldi authored a study on embedding health research into policies in Palestine. They conducted interviews with health professionals who identified weaknesses in utilizing research findings for decision-making. Barriers included lack of funding, poor coordination between researchers and policymakers, and research not being priority-driven. Interviewees agreed that applying evidence-based research could improve health systems and outcomes. However, the relationship between researchers and health institutions was seen as weak without a formal strategy. Recommendations included establishing a national research body, increasing funding, and institutionalizing research units within health organizations to strengthen the connection between research and policy.

1. Dr. Yousef Al-Jeesh
Mr. Mohammed Al-Khaldi
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Embeddeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

2. General Overview
 There is growing interest in understanding how to
effectively bridge the gap between the production of
knowledge and it's embedding in health decision-making.
 Better health research means better health care in the
delivery of better, fairer and more equitable health care to
people. It does so by identifying challenges and providing
best solutions in emerging and embedding these research
findings into policies in order to improved approaches to
public health.
 Research findings are extremely important to inform policy
and decision-making in health to tackle threats and diseases,
to address priorities and focus on the most important health
issues.
 The concept of evidence-based practice or policy-based
evidence aims to improve health system performance and
attain sustainable development.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

3. Health Research Challenge in Palestine
 Political, socio-economic, and education challenge.
 Research and management: unsupportive culture, poor
infrastructure, fund insufficiency, lack of leadership,
inefficient information system, uncoordinated and
unlinked stakeholders. research findings are neglected by
policy makers due to absence of agreed research-policy
integration strategy, limited resources and experts,
conducted personally-oriented not scientific-oriented.
 Institutional issues: the gaps and terrible link between
Universities and research institutions with policy making
body.
Generally, embedding research findings in health policy
making is experiencing weakness and the absence of the
efficient policies-relied on research evidence practice.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

4. Study importance
 Perceive marginalizing health research in PMOH, Health
NGOs, and research institutions operations .
 Scarcity of relevant studies, since this study addresses this
topic with the lack of accurate data and statistics about the
reality of research in Palestine, mainly in the health field.
 The first domestic and academic study . As well, relies on
the importance of the topic that addressed is considered one
of the most important health system pillars.
 Health R&D witness weakness and absence of the
supportive culture, malpractice and implications, and
utilization.
 Study provide clear insights and basis to the health decision
makers and researchers in formulating unified and effective
strategy to strengthen health research in Palestine.
Moreover, it can be the bases of other applied research.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
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5. Assessing the real condition of embedding and
inserting the research evidence in policy decisions
for health from policy makers and academicians
perspectives in the Gaza Strip. In order to identify
proper ways that achieve the integration between
them, thus providing suggestions about the
appropriate utilization of research outcomes in
policy making process.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

6. Objectives
1.To examine the health researches and policy making integration,
reality, obstacles, opportunities, strengths and weaknesses and
factors affecting that.
2. To develop relevant, effective, and efficient sustainable strategy
and mechanisms that manage the relationship between research
producers and policy making boards in Palestine.
3. To present a conceptual understanding of institutional
embeddedness and apply it to the context of research in policy
making in health.
4. To recognize the stakeholder's roles in supporting health
research and its implications on policy making practice levels.
5. To provide recommendations for better utilization of health
research findings into policies in light of supporting the health
system components.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

7. • Reviewing literature.
• The study used qualitative approach by conducting in-depth interviews with
academicians, experts and policy makers for gathering data about the
phenomenon.
• 7th interviews conducted in February 2013:
• The first two interviews commenced at the PMOH with two Chief Executive
Officers CEOs, the third one with expert from PLC, the fourth held with expert
from NGO, the fifth, Sixth and seventh interviews carried with three
academicians from Al-Quds, Al-Azhar and The Islamic University of Gaza.
• Used Non-probability convenience and purposive selection, and the Interview
questions were developed initially based on a conceptual model of institutional
embeddedness through literature and experts consultations.
• One interview was piloted with academic professor.
• In content comparative analysis, data were systematically analyzed within steps.
Raw data were carefully processed by Open Coded Thematic Analysis OCTA in
order to make analytical interpretations.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
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8. A strategy of Effective Health Research System
Adopted by WHO, 2012
Capacity
Priorities
Strengthening
health research
systems
Meeting
health needs
Standards
Good research
practice
Embedding
Evidence into
practice
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

9. Conceptual F. for institutional Health Research embeddeness
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
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10. Research and Policy-making Bodies Relationship and
Alignment (Developed by researcher)
Research
Producer
Research User
(Government and
NGOs Authorities)
(Academic and
Institutions)
Liaison body
(NRC)/ regulated
policies
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

11. Dissemination Structure of Research
Findings in the policy practices
(Source: Dobbins et al. 2002)
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
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13. Interviewees perceptions about
“embeddeness”
 The overall perceptions about the research embeddness is weak and
neglected, and there is no full satisfaction and the embeddedness state
did not reach the required level. At this moment, there are inconsiderable
efforts in applying the health research into policy making.
 Using research evidences in policy practices in health organizations are
marginalized and inapplicable by policy makers.
 There is consensus that the health policies must be constructed on
evidence-based decisions which should be derived from scientific bases.
 Half of experts agreed that researches have clear goals in evaluating the
health services or presenting approaches that improved the health.
 The others added that the researches are the mirror that evaluates the
current situation and the desired future horizons. Most of world countries
depend on the research to develop its capacities and allocate budgets
related to research that could reach around 5% of the general budget of
the government.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

14. The majority of the experts emphasize on fund
insufficiency for research. Palestinian government
budgets and plans did not allocate adequate fund.
On the NGOs and INGOs levels there is concern with
research to some extent due to the programs' and
projects' nature with rare existence of R&D units in
these organizations.
All of interviewees agreed that the researches
purpose that made is personally but not priority or
scientific-oriented. Since the researchers make
researches to develop their professional and
functional position besides the financial interests.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh
and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

15. • There are no disadvantages unless it is misuse and malpracticed and it also depends on the research quality and
credibility.
• Advantages: extreme necessity to apply it in the health that is
characterized by its complexities which should be met with
realistic facts, fill the gaps in the health system and produces
true health decisions, helps policy makers in setting the
health development strategies and plans, increases the policy
makers' abilities in evaluating the situation.
Clearer, one of experts provided an example of research that was
scientifically conducted and it addresses thalassemia disease, this
research concluded findings that contributed in creating strategic
plan including policies that control the disease.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

16. Embeddeness and Health Needs, Indicators, and HS
Performance
• The majority conformed that this concept of policy-based evidence is
strongly believes that there is close relationship with fulfilling health needs ,
improving indicators, and HC performance. When health providers
determine the population health needs, deliberately they use research as a
suitable tool like needs assessment to achieve the sounded needs. From
another point of view, if health research is scientifically conducted and
correctly directed according to the HS priorities it will reach findings and
recommendations that will effectively contribute in improving HS
performance and will fulfill the gaps this is called "decision-based evidence".
• Health research and its findings in the policy making process assists in giving
precise truths that reflect the health needs to compare the health situation
geographically between areas within one country and with other countries
and timely over time stages. In other words, the health indicators are based
on the research findings which main aim is evaluating and validating these
indicators for example: surveillance-based evidences.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

17. Perceptions about research findings utilization
and appropriateness
• There are two different points of views. Some indicated that it is
appropriately used specially in the NGOs because there is concern and
supportive culture and resources from the management or donor
related to the nature of the projects. Moreover, presence of qualified
and skilled HRs in the scientific research, the current condition of health
research in NGOs is moderately well.
• In contrast, some argued that the research and its findings are not
translated properly into the process of decision making process and
witness significance weakness due to the most researches that are
produced are not for scientific or policy purposes but for personal
purposes.
• Generally, the difficulties hinder research use into policies in proper
manner mainly represents in issues of procedures, personal,
environmental, absence or miscommunications, and priorities
contradiction, also organizational aspects such as bureaucratization.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

18. The Role of Researchers in Policy-making
• There is compromise among experts perspectives that the health
researchers role is a very minor and mainly marginalized and does not
reach to the required level.
• 4 experts attributed the faint role due to own reasons such as rewards
and promotions, bulky research idea is not priority-driven but stems
from individual motives, this does not deny the existence of initiative
researchers.
• Another stated that the health researchers have a central and vital role
to a large extent in the decision process within NGOs sector, as a result
of the characteristics that distinguished these organizations from others.
• The role of researchers and decision makers is a scattered due to of
separation between them, as well as barriers related to lack of
communication, consultations, mutual understanding and cooperation at
the academic institutions, government authorities and NGOs.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

19. Research Institutions, MOH, and NGOs
Relationship
• 5 experts clarified that the relationship nature is
fragile and not profound based on a real strategic
partnership and cooperation in health researches.
This relationship only restricted to administrative
arrangements for researcher likes administrative
approval or consent from the authorities, with
existence of certain links but seasonal between
specific institutions such as consultations services,
workshops conferences and tutorial sessions
addressing health issues and problems.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

20. Palestinian Institutions experience in
Research Embeddeness into Policy
• The experts' perspectives revealed that there is significantly
weakness by health government institutions in adopting the
concept of evidence embeddedness into policy.
• The experts call to institutionalizing this concept to become
the culture research-oriented.
• This urge us to the need to more efforts and interventions to
promote this concept by developing policy makers
capacities, strengthen networking and communication,
support research units within organization, plenty
resources, more involvement and consultation, regulated
health
research-policy
strategy,
and
supportive
management.
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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

21. In Conclusion
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• All key informants acknowledged the need for evidence to inform
decision making and that the overall trend seems unsatisfactory,
weak, and blurred status and the need for serious corrective
strategies and greater actions to be taken to create a culture of
health research production, utilization and translation with our
health organizations.
• There is a consistent perspective among experts in underpinning
the research findings utilization in the health actions and policies
as a considerable part of health system components.
• They have asserted on several important suggestions concerning
in founding agreed national health research priorities, formulating
regulated body for research, sufficient and planned fund,
encouraging the networking, coordination, consultations and
partnership agreements as well as Activating the complementarity
role among all relevant institutions and stakeholders at local and
international levels, creating incentive systems and implementing
capacity building programs, and teaming among researchers and
policy makers is essential.
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23. Recommendation 1
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• Important of existing body as a mediator
like national committee or council and
adopting WHO research strategy. Also,
need to disseminate the researches
clearly, effectively, and efficiently to all
concern audiences with focusing on
improving the policy makers' potentials
and experience in research and urging
the universities and colleges in
concerning
more
in
research
methodology course.
Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh
and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

24. Recommendation 2
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• Build active partnership and cooperation
across universities, research institutes,
government and NGOs and INGOs, and
working on establish national research
policy based on priorities through
teamwork (team-driven) by encouraging
the operations, applied, evaluation and
assessment researches
Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh
and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

25. Recommendation 3
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• Urging the government and universities
in promoting research culture and
working
on
support
research
infrastructure, commit to fixed budget
for research, upgrading dynamic
information and technological, as
communication
and
coordination
measures.
Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh
and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

26. Recommendation 4
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• Call to institutionalize the research by
finding and supporting research and
development units within the health
institutions linked directly with front
management and encourage and
empower researchers and professionals'
through effective incentive system and
capacity building programs.
Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh
and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

27. Recommendation 5
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• Call for making a comprehensive
review of all critical health researches
and studies for Utilization purpose.
Moreover, urge the donors and their
organizations to play important role in
supporting the health research and its
implications on the health sectors in
Palestine.
Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh
and Al-Khaldi
April, 2013

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Embedeness research into policies, Aljeesh and Al-Khaldi
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