1. Voices of decision makers on evidence-based policy: A case of evolving TB/HIV co-infection policy in India
- Author
-
Seema Sahay and K. Srikanth Reddy
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Operations Research ,Health (social science) ,Social Psychology ,Decision Making ,India ,HIV Infections ,Public administration ,Interviews as Topic ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Interim ,Realm ,medicine ,Humans ,Tuberculosis ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Policy Making ,Health policy ,Evidence-Based Medicine ,business.industry ,Coinfection ,030503 health policy & services ,Public health ,Health Policy ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Health services research ,Evidence-based medicine ,Public Health Practice ,Mandate ,Health Services Research ,0305 other medical science ,business ,Evidence-based policy - Abstract
This study explores decision makers' perspectives on evidence-based policy (EBP) development using the case of TB/HIV co-infection in India. Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with purposively selected key national and international policy decision makers in India. Verbatim transcripts were processed and analysed thematically using QSR (NUD*IST 6). The decision makers were unequivocal in recognizing the TB/HIV co-infection as an important public health issue in India and stated the problem to be different than Africa. The need of having a "third programme" for co-infection was not felt. According to them, the public health management of this co-infection must be within the realm of these two programmes. The study also emphasized on decision makers' perspectives on evidence and the process of utilization of evidence for decision-making for co-infection. Study findings showed global evidence was not always accepted by the decision makers and study shows several examples of decision makers demanding local evidence for policy decisions. Decision makers did make interim policies based on global evidence but most of the time their mandate was to get local evidence. Thus, operations research/implementation science especially multi-centric studies emerge as important strategy for EBP development. Researcher-policy maker interface was a gap where role of researcher as aggressive communicator of research findings was expected.
- Published
- 2015