Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Abstract BACKGROUND: Capacity constraints on implementation research among policymakers and
researchers are a major challenge to the evidence to policy link. This study was designed to bring
together senior policymakers and researchers in Nigeria to consider issues around research‑to‑policy
interface and enhance their capacity on implementation research.
METHODS: The design was a cross‑sectional study. A 3‑day joint implementation research workshop
was held for policymakers and researchers using World Health Organization/TDR Implementation
Research Toolkit. Assessment of participants’ capacity for evidence‑informed policymaking and
knowledge on implementation research was done using a 5‑point Likert scale questionnaire.
A postworkshop key informant interview was also conducted.
RESULTS: A total of 20 researchers and 15 policymakers participated in the study. The
interaction/partnership between policymakers and researchers was generally rare in terms of
priority‑setting process, involvement as coinvestigators, and executing strategies to support
policymakers’ use of research findings. The mean ratings (MNRs) recorded mostly ranged
from 1.80 to 1.89 on the 5‑point scale. Researchers were rarely involved in the generation of
policy‑relevant research that satisfies policymakers’ needs with MNR very low at 1.74. The
MNRs for capacity to acquire, assess, and adapt research were generally considerably higher
among researchers (3.16–3.82) than policymakers (2.27–3.20). There was a general consensus
that the training tremendously improved participants’ understanding and use of implementation
research.
CONCLUSION: Policymakers and researchers are increasingly recognizing their need to work with
each other in the interest of the health systems. There is a need to create more capacity enhancement
platforms that will facilitate the interface between them.