TABLE 3.

Health research translation and utilization into decisions and policies (HRTUDP). Capacity of research quality and knowledge transfer and translation in Palestine: a call for sound decision-making, Palestine, Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2021.

Health research translation and utilization into decision and policies (HRTUDP)
Theme sector	Theme 1: Limiting factors of HRTUDP	Theme 2: Improving factors of HRTUDP	Theme 3: Opportunities to build on
Gov	- Each entity has its own evidence without sharing them with others with poor culture and attitude on research	- Agreed policy, coordination, and agreed priorities for results application—acad. And gov. Communication and developing researchers capacity—reactivate journals clubs to review research findings to be utilized—Decision-makers must be convinced of research evidence in planning and decision-making—Awareness of evidence-based decision-making - systematic policy workshops discuss all implemented research—clear and regular policy briefs to decision-making and planning bodies	- Palestinian national institute of public Health existence and role to take this mandate—the supreme palestinian Health council can play an important role
	- Financial shortage and poor qualification
	- Gaps in sectorial coordination, communication, and conflicting interests among producers and users
	- Ineffective evidence and knowledge dissemination, researchers do not share their results
	- State management changes hinder research translation
	- Policy-makers preoccupation to read policy briefs with poor quality of research
	- A plethora of unused information and knowledge
	- Plenty of descriptive research rather than experiment
	- The absence of common body implements research outputs
Acad	- Schools’ research outputs are untapped and unused with ineffective dissemination among departments	- An integrated system adopts the research routine translation process and urges decision-makers to be research-oriented and develop their capacities in evidence-based practice—researchers’ and policy-makers’ communication and involvement for effective, efficient and timed translation into decision-making—training capacity building to raise awareness and improve skills on HRTUDP—encourage dissemination through organizational plan supported by a high national scientific research body—new policies dedicated to evidence-based practice and collaborative work to involve all players on how to translate evidence into decision-making—sectorial research-policymaking coordination and cooperation based on agreed priorities in research topics selection, conduction, and dissemination	- Successful attempts which are evidence-based (such as non-communicable diseases screening)—WHO explicit role to develop HRS and seize lancet annual meetings—without evidence-based decisions, big losses, e.g., waste resources, unimproved health, and incorrect decisions will rise - Health system and care will be met and improved—birziet University and the lancet palestinian Health alliance achieved some success
	- HRTUDP is not a methodology of state policy-making with lack of policy-makers’ research orientation and their dependency on political inputs rather than evidence enforced by political and donors’ agendas
	- No transparency and immaturity of evidence-based practices culture with limited resources
	- Lack of communication between researchers and decision-makers due to unshared knowledge through clear interpreted findings
	- Unpublished research, research not priorities-based and not health system needs-oriented
	- Time limitation to academics for dissemination
	- NGOs are dependent and subject to the donors’ wills
	- Lack of experimental studies and research quality and credibility is an issue
	- Research does not address health improvement and is mainly personal-interest driven
	- Health actions are spontaneously performed not based on research with contradiction goals in obtaining the funding
NGOs	- Lack of policy-makers’ awareness and interest in research	- A clear structure to guide research, foster knowledge transfer and translation, a solid link between researchers and policy-makers—MoH should embrace evidence-based decisions in policy-making processes—support to encourage human resources—a body to implement evidence translation, local-international networks to benefit from their experience and to get accessibility—politic tensions should be separated from development decisions—partnerships provide empowerment programmes, allocate resources, academia-state integration—research culture should be enhanced and integrated into the decision-making process—All health interventions need to be based on evidence and aligned with research priorities	- Major improvements in post—and ante-natal care are based on evidence—palestinian national institute of public Health to lead improving evidence-based practice and knowledge transfer—Utilizing the presence of scientific research council
	- Lack of clear research system and agreed research priorities and policy
	- Unmonitored decision-making and lack of policy informing and briefing skills with poor communication and dissemination among stakeholders
	- Produced evidence does not reflect the national priorities and it not connected to the society’s needs
	- Lack of research quality and data credibility
	- The negative impact of social, political and economic instability on decision-making
	- Research is a personal interest with no influence on decision-making
	- Most of research done in health schools is neglected and unutilized
	- The inability of state legislative boards to use research findings in their decision-making, good research selection is an issue
	- The abundance of evaluative and statistical studies with a deficit of experimental ones