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Using a Participatory Research Process to Make a Difference in Policy on Aging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2023

Carol L. McWilliam
Carol L. McWilliam*
Affiliation:
The University of Western Ontario
*
Requests for reprints should be sent to:/Les demandes de reproduction doivent être adressées à: Carol L. McWilliam, Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, Kresge Building, Room K1, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5C1
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Abstract

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As policy emerges from the interplay of economic, political, and social forces, determining whether research has made a difference to policy choices on aging issues is extremely difficult. Such a determination demands attention to the "black box" of the policy process, and the setting within which policy ultimately operates. This paper presents a Seniors' Independence Research Program as a case illustration of how research has made a difference to policy choices by stakeholder involvement throughout the research process. Strategies ensure stakeholder collaboration in policy issue search, filtration, definition, and prioritization; involvement in the design, implementation, and evaluation of health services models; and participation in achieving long-term evidence-based changes in policy and practice.

Résumé

Résumé

Alors qu'une stratégic politique émerge de l'interaction des forces économiques, politiques et sociales, il reste qu'il est trés difficile à déterminer si la recherche a eu un impact favorable sur les choix politiques concernant des questions relatives au vieillissement. Afin de mesurer cet impact il faut porter son attention sur la «boîte noire» de la procédure politique, et sur le contexte dans lequel la politique opère en definitive. Cette communication présente un Programme de Recherche sur l'lndépendance des Personnes âgées, en guise d'illustration de la façon dont la recherche a eu un impact favorable sur les choix politiques, grace a l'engagement des principaux intéressés au cours de la procedure des recherches. Des strategies garantissent la collaboration des principaux intéressés dans les recherches sur la politique à suivre, et sur le rayonnement, la définition, les questions prioritaires; sur l'engagement dans la conception, la mise en vigueur et I'évaluation des modèles de services de santé; et garantissent la participation, a partir des faits établis, aux changements a long terme apportés à la politique à suivre et à sa mise en pratique.

Keywords

Policy ProcessStakeholder InvolvementSeniors' ResearchSeniors' PolicyProcedure politiqueengagement des principaux intéressésrecherches sur vieillissementpolitique à suivre des personnes âgées
Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 16 , Issue S1: Bridging Policy and Research on Aging/Tisser des liens entre les politiques et la recherche relative au vieillissement , Spring Printemps 1997 , pp. 70 - 89
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1997

Footnotes

*

The author, a Career Scientist supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health, wishes to acknowledge the National Health Research and Development Program, and the Seniors' Directorate of Canada for their funding support of the projects undertaken in this collaborative research. The results and conclusions contained in this paper are those of the author. No official endorsement by either funding body is intended, nor should it be inferred. Additionally, the helpful assistance of Ms. Lynn Dunikowski, The Canadian Library of Family Physicians, and Ms. Carol Thompson, Centre for Studies in Family Medicine, is acknowledged.

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