Best Practice unit - RCHPR
Best Practice unit
The ability to gather and use relevant evidence of 'what works', commonly known as best practices, is a key component to promote health and healthy living conditions. There is increasing demand in all sectors across the research, policy, practice continuum for evidence-based decision-making and accountability. Evidence in health promotion is important because society pays a high cost when interventions that yield the highest health returns are not implemented. Evidence is also important because practitioners need justifications for the decisions they make. Ideally, practitioners should always incorporate evidence in selecting and implementing programs, developing policy, and evaluating progress.
This work advances the view that through both public and private initiatives, populations groups should be better enabled to protect and promote their own health. The most important tool here is to give responsibility for individual and community health back to individuals and communities themselves.
Best practice research aims to provide individuals and communities with the knowledge and resources required to make health promotion at this level possible.
The Center for Health Promotion Research has therefore established a Best Practice unit to assist users, organizations and workplaces to:
- Gather and systemize research/knowledge on important health promotional and preventive interventions
- Effectively put that knowledge into practice (through the developement and dissemination of "how-to-do-it-manuals)
- Evaluate the outcomes of health promotion and preventive knowledge-based initiatives once they are implemented
Contact
Professor Monica Lillefjell