Impact of health research on advances in knowledge, research capacity building and evidence informed policies: a case study on maternal mortality and morbidity in Brazil.
CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE National health research systems aim to generate high quality knowledge so as to maintain and promote the population's health. This study aimed to analyze the impact of maternal mortality/morbidity research funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and institutional partners, on the dimensions: advancing in knowledge, research capacity building and informing decision making, within the framework of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. DESIGN AND SETTING Descriptive study based on secondary data, conducted at a public university. METHODS The advancing in knowledge dimension was estimated from the principal investigators' publication counts and h index. Data on research capacity building were obtained from the Ministry of Health's information system. The informing decision making dimension was analyzed from citations in Stork Network (Rede Cegonha) documents. RESULTS Between 2002 and 2010, R$ 21.6 million were invested in 128 maternal mortality/morbidity projects. Over this period, the principal investigators published 174 articles, resulting in an h index of 35, thus showing progress in the advancing in knowledge dimension. Within the research capacity building dimension, training of 71 students (undergraduate/postgraduate) was observed. Progress in the informing decision making dimension was modest: 73.5% of the 117 citations in the Stork Network documents were institutional documents and norms. One of the projects funded, the 2006/7 National Demography and Health Survey, was cited in program documents. CONCLUSION Impacts were shown in the advancing in knowledge and research capacity building dimensions. The health research system needs to incorporate research for evidence informed policies.
Sao Paulo medical journal Revista paulista de medicina