TRANSLATING PUBLIC HEALTH EVIDENCE INTO POLICY: PATHWAYS, BARRIERS, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVIDENCE-INFORMED DECISION-MAKING

Abstract

The translation of public health research evidence into policy remains a persistent challenge despite decades of advances in epidemiology, health systems research, and implementation science. While evidence-informed decision-making is widely endorsed as a normative ideal, policy processes are shaped by political, institutional, and social factors that often limit the direct application of scientific findings. This study examines how public health evidence is translated into policy decisions, focusing on the mechanisms, facilitators, and barriers that influence evidence use within policymaking institutions. Using a mixed-methods design, the study combines a documentary analysis of policy texts with in-depth interviews of policymakers, researchers, and public health practitioners. The findings reveal that while evidence is valued symbolically, its instrumental use is constrained by timing, framing, institutional capacity, and political priorities. The study proposes a translational framework for strengthening evidence–policy linkages and contributes to the growing field of translational public health by empirically examining policy translation as a critical determinant of population health outcomes.