Using Evidence in Public Health Decisions: Why it Matters | National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools

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- Home
- Repositories
  - The Registry of Methods and Tools for Evidence-Informed Decision Making
  - Methods and Tools for Organizational Change
  - Health Evidence™
  - Repository of Public Health Evidence Syntheses
- Training
  - Videos
  - Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Competence Measure
  - Learning Needs Assessment for Evidence-Informed Decision Making
  - Online Learning Modules
  - University-Certified Learning Module Program
  - Webinars
  - Workshops
  - Knowledge Broker Mentoring Program
    
    KB Mentoring Impact
  - Knowledge Broker Virtual Office Hours
- Tools
  - Evidence-Informed Decision Making in Public Health
  - 6S Search Pyramid
  - Anatomy of a Systematic Review
  - Rapid Review Guidebook
  - EvSyS: The Evidence Synthesis Selection Tool for Decision Makers
  - Algorithm for Classifying the Study Design of Primary Studies
  - Quality Assessment of Community Evidence (QACE) Tools
  - Resource Planning and Assessment (RPA) Tool
  - Assessing Applicability and Transferability of Evidence Tool (A&T Tool)
  - Core Competency Tool
  - Mental Health Resources for Healthcare Workers
- Rapid Evidence Service
- Impact
  - Evidence-Informed Decision Making Casebook
  - Impact of the Knowledge Broker Mentoring Program
  - Why It Matters
  - NCCMT Publications
  - User Stories
  - Outreach
  - KT Student Awards
- About Us
  - About the NCCMT
  - Our Funder
  - Our Host Institution
  - The National Collaborating Centres
  - Team Members
  - Advisory Group Members
  - Students
  - COVID-19 Evidence Network to support Decision-making (COVID-END)
  - Contact Us

Using Evidence in Public Health Decisions: Why it Matters

Four public health personalities make the case

In this video series, four Canadian experts explain why evidence-informed decision making is essential for public health. David Mowat, Carol Timmings, Gaynor Watson-Creed and Jocelyne Sauvé talk candidly about the impact that using evidence has had on their practices.

Watch Using Evidence in Public Health Decisions: Why it Matters on the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools' (NCCMT) website or on YouTube.

Using evidence to inform public health decisions can benefit the individuals, organizations and communities:

In a climate of tightening budgets, Dr. Watson-Creed notes, it is especially “important for us to be sure that the interventions that we are creating are going to work.”’
Jocelyne Sauvé adds that, “Without looking at [the research], we could implement interventions that would show little or no effectiveness.”
Decisions informed by evidence result in better health outcomes for individuals and communities. Dr. Mowat says that, by making “better use of the science that is already there,” public health professionals can “find the most effective ways of preventing… unnecessary illness and mortality.)
Dr. Watson-Creed also warns that, organizations that make decisions without evidence are “at risk of wasting resources, with solutions [they] think might work but that [they] don’t actually have the evidence to know … are going to work.”

Ultimately, the video’s message is that evidence-informed practice is an achievable goal for any organization. “You’re not doing it alone,” says Carol Timmings. “You are able to optimize and capitalize on assets that others are offering you in knowledge and expertise.”