Examining self-described policy-relevant evidence base for policymaking: an evidence map of COVID-19 literature

Chukwu, Emelda E., Woolaston, Katie, Kaufer, Ricardo, Bortolus, Alejandro, Hewitt, Chad L., Schwindt, Evangelina, Sogbanmu, Temitope O., Schwenkenbecher, Anne, Rubin, Hannah, Slanickova, Helena, Schneider, Mike D., Heesen, Remco ORCID: 0000-0003-3823-944X and Mitova, Veli (2024) Examining self-described policy-relevant evidence base for policymaking: an evidence map of COVID-19 literature. BMJ Public Health, 2 (2). e000694. ISSN 2753-4294

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Abstract

Background: Evidence-based policymaking is a paradigm aimed at increasing the use of evidence by actors involved in policymaking processes. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a heavy reliance on emerging evidence for policymaking during emergencies. Objective:This study describes the focus and types of evidence in journal articles self-described as relevant to policymaking using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, identifying gaps in evidence and highlighting author stated perceived biases specifically in evidence-based policy making. Design Evidence mapping. Data sources: We systematically searched SCOPUS, PubMed and LexisNexis for literature identifying policy-relevant evidence available on the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligibility criteria: The study included only peer-reviewed literature identified as ‘article’, ‘book chapter’, ‘review’ covering the period from January 2020 to December 2022. Inclusion criteria required that articles have an abstract, authorship attribution and are written in English. Data extraction and synthesis: A minimum of two authors independently extracted and coded for every level and final outputs were compared for consistency. Results: A total of 213 articles met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed in this study. Lead authorship affiliations were from 50 countries with 70% of the outputs from developed economies including USA (20.2%), UK (18.3%) and Australia (7.5%). The most common purpose of the articles was the presentation of research findings the authors considered of relevance to policy (60.1%), followed by work that examined the impact of policy (28.6%) or highlighted or supported a policy need (22.5%), while some papers had multiple stated purposes. The most common challenges in policymaking identified by the authors of the reviewed papers were process failures and poor evidence utilisation during policymaking. Conclusions: The evidence map identified the need for an interdisciplinary policy approach involving relevant stakeholders and driven by quality research as a progressive step towards prevention of future public health crises/pandemics.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author(s)
Divisions:	Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences
Date Deposited:	30 Aug 2024 13:45
Last Modified:	14 Sep 2024 10:15
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/125300

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