Promoting evidence-informed policymaking through capacity enhancement in implementation research for health researchers and policymakers in Nigeria: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Capacity constraints on implementation research among policymakers and researchers are a major challenge to the evidence to policy link. This study was designed to bring together senior policymakers and researchers in Nigeria to consider issues around research-to-policy interface and enhance their capacity on implementation research. METHODS The design was a cross-sectional study. A 3-day joint implementation research workshop was held for policymakers and researchers using World Health Organization/TDR Implementation Research Toolkit. Assessment of participants' capacity for evidence-informed policymaking and knowledge on implementation research was done using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. A postworkshop key informant interview was also conducted. RESULTS A total of 20 researchers and 15 policymakers participated in the study. The interaction/partnership between policymakers and researchers was generally rare in terms of priority-setting process, involvement as coinvestigators, and executing strategies to support policymakers' use of research findings. The mean ratings (MNRs) recorded mostly ranged from 1.80 to 1.89 on the 5-point scale. Researchers were rarely involved in the generation of policy-relevant research that satisfies policymakers' needs with MNR very low at 1.74. The MNRs for capacity to acquire, assess, and adapt research were generally considerably higher among researchers (3.16-3.82) than policymakers (2.27-3.20). There was a general consensus that the training tremendously improved participants' understanding and use of implementation research. CONCLUSION Policymakers and researchers are increasingly recognizing their need to work with each other in the interest of the health systems. There is a need to create more capacity enhancement platforms that will facilitate the interface between them.