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Committees

Knowledge Translation

Chair: Francine Ducharme (McGill University). Members: E. Francoeur, J. Grimshaw, D. Johnson, S. Lee, A. Lynk, N. MacDonald, G. Pekeles, S. Scott-Findlay, L. Sethia, L. Snider, S. Straus

An effective KT strategy will ensure that Canadians – researchers, institutions, decision-makers, health care workers and families - benefit from MICYRN’s research programs. The KT Core activities will cover three main axes.

  1. Knowledge translation as a research domain - the group will create a national research framework of KT that will, on an ongoing basis, inventory Canadian expertise, tools, information and methods, synthesize existing knowledge from sources such as medical and other literature and Cochrane reviews, and identify and analyze gaps in care.
  2. Capacity building of KT researchers in the field of maternal and child health - will be achieved by specific training and mentorship for junior and established investigators through the creation of a KT training curriculum, establish Mentorship programs with established KT scientists and links to other CRI initiatives, such as “Knowledge Transfer Canada” and the “Integrated Research Network in Perinatology of Quebec”, to develop common training modules.
  3. Core KT Service - will interlink the production of scientific evidence by MICYRN scientists, the identification of effective KT interventions by KT researchers, and the demands of users and stakeholders. MICYRN will create a resource for users of our KT initiatives (policy makers, advocacy groups, health administrators, and the public), build links between MICYRN KT researchers and other groups with overlapping subject interests, and links between MICYRN KT researchers and other groups involved in KT research and the potential users of KT initiatives. MICYRN will improve the QOL of Canadians through the generation of new knowledge that is rapidly translated to new technology and practice.

A related area of research collaboration for MICYRN is knowledge synthesis, which entails summarizing the best available scientific evidence and identifying remaining gaps in knowledge to be addressed in future studies. In conjunction with the KT Core, partners in knowledge synthesis will focus on the production of systematic reviews, methodological advances and capacity building across Canada. These partners include the Alberta Research Centre for Child Health Evidence (ARCHE) and the Chalmers Research Group, as well as Canadian Cochrane centres. The Chalmers Research Group has established a registry of thousands of randomized trials specifically focused on complementary and alternative medicine interventions, and coordinates the Cochrane Bias Methods Group (led by David Moher).

Knowledge Translation Needs Assessment and Environmental Scan: A report for MICYRN, March 2009