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Background: The unprecedented amount of resources dedicated to humanitarian aid has led many stakeholders to demand the use of reliable evidence in humanitarian aid decisions to ensure that desired impacts are achieved at acceptable costs. However, little is known about the factors that influence the use of research evidence in the policy development in humanitarian crises. We examined how research evidence was used to inform two humanitarian policies made in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Methods: We identified two policies as rich potential case studies to examine the use of evidence in humanitarian aid policy decision-making: Lebanon's 2016 Health Response Strategy and Ontario's 2016 Phase 2: Health System Action Plan, Syrian Refugees. To study each, we used an embedded qualitative case study methodology and recruited senior decision-makers, policy advisors, and healthcare providers who were involved with the development of each policy. We reviewed publicly available documents and media articles that spoke to the factors that influence the process. We used the analytic technique of explanation building to understand the factors that influence the use of research evidence in the policy-development process in crisis zones. Results: We interviewed eight informants working in government and six in international agencies in Lebanon, and two informants working in healthcare provider organizations and two in non-governmental organizations in Ontario, for a total of 18 key informants. Based on our interviews and documentary analysis, we identified that there was limited use of research evidence and that four broad categories of factors helped to explain the policy-development process for Syrian refugees – development of health policies without significant chance for derailment from other government bodies (Lebanon) or opposition parties (Ontario) (i.e., facing no veto points), government's engagement with key societal actors to inform the policy-development process, the values underpinning the process, and external factors significantly influencing the policy-development process. Conclusions: This study suggests that use of research evidence in the policy-development process for Syrian refugees was subordinate to key political factors, resulting in limited influence of research evidence in the development of both the Lebanese and Ontarian policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As of September 1st 2020, over 42 000 COVID-19 cases and 2 800 COVID-19-related deaths have been confirmed in Ontario, Canada. Testing enables quick identification of cases, which results in effective contact tracing and containment of virus spread. Faced with a lack of surge capacity in the public health laboratory system at the start, health officials implemented changes to testing and laboratory infrastructure to significantly expand testing capacity to include 1) the centralization of resources; and 2) the integration of private and independent labs into the COVID-19 testing program. With these changes, testing capacity has grown from approximately 4,000/day in March to 32,000/day by the end of August, 2020. Eligibility criteria for testing has expanded to increase sensitivity and include testing of asymptomatic individuals. Along with previous outbreaks, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for integration of testing surge capacity in public health systems before outbreaks occur. This paper details the development and implementation of a COVID-19 testing program in Ontario from January 2020 to September 2020 during the first-wave of the pandemic. The goal of this analysis is to explore the historical precedence, present influences, and future implications of the program., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest There are no conflicts of interest to declare, (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)