Using research evidence to drive "real world" change.

1. EVIDENCE
&
THE
SDGS
Using research to promote
health and inclusion for
Canadian children with
disabilities
Dr. Ebele R.I. Mogo (@ebyral)
Postdoctoral researcher, McGill University
Faculty of Medicine

2. The Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) (1990-2015)1

3. ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE MDGS 1
Drop in extreme poverty
from 47%-14%
Drop in maternal
mortality rate by 45%
Drop in under five
mortality by 50%
Millions of malaria, HIV
and TB deaths averted

4. CHALLENGES OF THE MDGS
• Averages obscure those most in
need1
• Top-down approach2
• Technocratic methods2
• Informed by donors and OECD
countries2

5. The Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) 2015-2030 and Agenda 20301

6. How the
SDGs
improve
on the
MDGs
Inclusion1
Equity1
Home-grown solutions1
Inclusion of low and
middle income
countries1

7. How the SDGs build on the MDGs1
Focus on
rights
Focus on
partnerships
Opportunities for greater
civil society engagement
More
collaboration
A stronger role for
the private sector

8. Can
research
play a role
in driving
the SDGs?
What do you think?

9. • be a tool for action
• drive independent thought
• inform policymakers
• foster multi-sectoral collaboration
• uncover inequities, drive inclusive impact
• facilitate evidence-informed innovation and
best practices
• catalogue lived experiences
Yes!
Research can…

10. What are the challenges in
bridging the gap between
Research
The
SDGs
&
Thoughts?

11. CHALLENGES
• Evidence misaligned with needs, and political cycles
of decision making1,2,3,4
• Evidence not presented with the decision makers in
mind1,2,3,4
• Over-reliance on passive diffusion1,2,3,4
• Skills and incentive gap1,2,3,4

12. • Lag in access to health education, healthcare,
and health promotion activities1
• Rarely meet physical activity standards2, 3, 4, 5
• Lack of adapted programs and inclusive
settings6,7
• Low motivation to engage in physical
activity6,7
Applying research in
leaving no one
behind
Focus population -
Canadian children
with disabilities

13. • Lower levels of physical activity participation than
peers 1,2,3,4
• Higher prevalence of non-communicable diseases4
• More limited by environmental, socioeconomic and
interpersonal barriers to healthy behaviours4
Applying research in
leaving no one
behind
Focus population -
Canadian children
with disabilities

14. How do we use research to
make sure we “leave no
one behind?”
… experiment, testing, evaluating, reflecting
and learning

15. Overview of projects
• Rapid reviews + Policy dialogue on building
healthy and inclusive communities in British
Columbia
• Policy dialogue on rights-based approaches to
childhood disability

16. Overview of projects
• A scoping review on face to face interventions
for childhood disability
• A systematic review of context-based
interventions to promote inclusive leisure
participation

17. Overview of projects
• A feasibility study on the use of mobile technology
(Jooay) to improve inclusive physical activity
participation
• Assessing the relationship between socioeconomic
deprivation and access to opportunities for
inclusive leisure participation

18. Rapid reviews + Policy dialogue
on building health and inclusive
communities in British
Columbia
Engaging community stakeholders as co-
researchers in:
- contextualizing policy frameworks
- facilitating multi-sectoral action
- providing relevant information to decision
makers.

19. Method
• A stakeholder engagement process to identify
priority areas
• Rapid review
• Policy briefs
• Policy dialogue

20. Findings
• Adopt an integrated approach to knowledge
creation1,2,3
• Make universal accessibility a requirement for
funding or incentives1,2,3
• Collaborative networks can prevent duplication
and build capacity1,2,3

21. Findings
• Social support systems, e.g. peer mentors 1,2,3
• Technical support e.g. physical therapists, clinicians,
occupational therapists, speech pathologists, special
education teachers1,2,3
• Maximize opportunities e.g. policy windows, political
changes1,2,3

22. A feasibility study
on the use of
mobile technology
(Jooay) to improve
inclusive physical
activity
participation

23. In-app survey
administration
exploring socio-
demographic
characteristics
of users,
preferences,
and behaviour
patterns.
Method

24. • 239 participants received the survey
• Response rate of 39% (N=93).
• High attrition rate - < 5% responding to some
questions
• Most (41%) respondents were parents or
caregivers of a child with a disability.
• 82% of the respondents lived in an urban
area

25. • 92% of service providers lived in an urban
area.
• 76% of service providers and 89% of
caregivers were women.

26. User feedback
• Online community
• Tracking
• Positive prompts/Incentives
• More activities
• Most useful activity information - cost,
type and description

27. Assessing the relationship
between socioeconomic
deprivation and access to
opportunities for inclusive
leisure participation

28. • Aggregated Jooay App data on leisure
opportunities by: i) city ii) postal code iii) type of
activity
• Linked to dissemination area data - population
size, density, median after-tax income, type of
population center
Method

29. Preliminary findings
…still ongoing

30. Thoughts?
How can we foster
ecosystems for
knowledge co-
production that drive
action?

31.  Research evidence, meet lived realities
 Balance rigour with pragmatism – e.g. the use of rapid
reviews
 Creating an ecosystem with incentives for research
uptake – policy hub, embedded research, etc.
Reflections on using evidence to drive
change.

32. Reflections and future directions on
using evidence to drive change.
 Do not underestimate the relevance of bringing people
together into one room – nobody else may be doing it!
 See communities not just as recipients, but as valuable
teammates

33. Reflections and future directions on
using evidence to drive change.
 Capitalize on local windows of opportunity – e.g.
funding, global conventions, political will
 Be very clear about the end goal (informing?
Changing policy? facilitating collaborations etc.)
 Be thoughtful about positionality within
organization

34. Reflections and future directions on
using evidence to drive change.
Who is not there that needs to be?

35. Reflections and future directions on
using evidence to drive change.
 There are multiple forms of research evidence
- from government statistics (to localize)
- from scientific studies (to inform with evidence)
- on lived experiences (develop be context appropriate)
- on best practices (to innovate)
- data on policy commitments (to make a claim for action)
 More powerful when integrated.

36. Reflections and future directions on
using evidence to drive change.
 Acknowledge failures and blindspots as rich lessons
 Don’t give up
 A bit about my path

37. Have FUN!

38. Have FUN!

39. Thank you!