Equity-focused knowledge translation: a framework for “reasonable action” on health inequities

• Published in: International journal of public health Vol. 59; no. 3; pp. 457 - 464
• Main Authors: Masuda, J. R., Zupancic, T., Crighton, E., Muhajarine, N., Phipps, E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel Springer Basel 01-06-2014; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Cooperative Behavior; Environmental Health; Health Status Disparities; Humans; Inequality; Information Dissemination - methods; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Occupational Medicine/Industrial Medicine; Original Article; Public Health; Social Determinants of Health; Social Justice; Translational Medical Research; World Health Organization; Social injustice; Health inequities; Equity-focused knowledge translation
• ISSN: 1661-8556; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.1007/s00038-013-0520-z

Objectives
To identify gaps in procedural approaches to knowledge translation and outline a more relational approach that addresses health inequities based on creating collaborative environments for reasonable action.
Methods
A literature review encompassing approaches to critical inquiry of the institutional conditions in which knowledge is created combined with a process for encouraging reflexive professional practice provide the conceptual foundation for our approach, called equity-focused knowledge translation (EqKT).
Results
The EqKT approach creates a matrix through which teams of knowledge stakeholders (researchers, practitioners, and policymakers) can set common ground for taking collaborative action on health inequities.
Conclusions
Our approach can contribute to the call by the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Healths for more reasonable action on health inequities by being incorporated into numerous public health settings and processes. Further steps include empirical applications and evaluations of EqKT in real world applications.