Abstract
This chapter provides a view on the healthy city project that started in the 1980s. The healthy city project is a WHO initiative launched to incorporate health in the agenda of city governments. One of the main challenges in the project implementation is the evidence synthesis, especially at local levels. The author explores this limitation in the literature relevant to the healthy city project. The author conducted a narrative review to examine the position of different aspects of evidence-informed policymaking in the studied literature and documents. Four categories of research work were charted: Theoretical Framework, Guides, Measurement, and Evidence Use in Urban Planning. The chapter concludes that despite the increased efforts, there is a room for further development of knowledge-based policymaking. More attention to the actual practice of using evidence in policymaking and outputs of such a process should be given despite focusing on the inputs of the process.
TopBackground
It is estimated that by 2030 two thirds of the world's population will live in urban areas. This part of the literature provides a conceptual understanding of the Healthy city in theory as well as in practice.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Knowledge Translation (KT): Is defined by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) as the dynamic and iterative process that includes synthesis, dissemination, exchange, and ethically sound application of knowledge. It aims to improve the health of Canadians, provide more effective health services and products, and strengthen the health care system. It's the most widely used term in the health sector. Canadian scholars prefer this term.
Evidence-Based Policies (EBP): Is the conscientious and judicious use of current best evidence in conjunction with clinical expertise and public health values to guide health policies.
Dissemination: Is active and planned efforts to persuade target groups to adopt an innovation. This term tends to focus on the efforts of raising awareness toward the usage of knowledge rather than generating it. This term is preferred by American scholars and refers to the second active level of Diffusion. It’s an act of the research side or knowledge brokers.
Evidence Synthesis: Is an evaluation or analysis of research evidence and expert opinion on a specific topic to aid in decision making or help decision-makers in the development of policies. It can help place the results of a single study in context by providing the overall body of research evidence. There are many forms of synthesis, ranging from very formal systematic reviews, like those carried out by the Cochrane Collaboration, to informal literature reviews. It aims at developing best practice recommendations for a specific area of management or policy development.
Urban Health Research: Is an explicit investigation of the relation between the urban context and population distribution of health and disease.
Research Utilization: Is the process by which specific research-based knowledge/science is implemented in practice. This term is mostly used in the UK and Europe.
Healthy City: Is a municipality that continually improves on a physical and a social level until environmental and pathological conditions are reached, establishing an acceptable morbidity rate for the population.