role of ideas and ideologies in evidence-based health policy

policy making in health is largely thought to be driven by three ‘i's namely ideas, interests and institutions. recent years have seen a shift in approach with increasing reliance being placed on role of evidence for policy making. the present arti­cle ascertains the role of ideas and ideologies in shaping evidence which is used to aid in policy decisions. the article dis­cusses different theories of research-policy interface and the relative freedom of research-based evidence from the influence of ideas. examples from developed and developed countries are cited to illustrate the contentions made. the article high­lights the complexity of the process of evidence-based policy making, in a world driven by existing political, social and cul­tural ideologies. consideration of this knowledge is paramount where more efforts are being made to bridge the gap be­tween the ‘two worlds' of researchers and policy makers to make evidence-based policy as also for policy analysts.