3. Why is knowledge translation important?
Failures to use research evidence to inform decision making are apparent across all key decision-maker groups, including health care providers, patients, informal carers, managers, and policy makers, in developed and developing countries, and in care provided by all disciplines. Practice audits performed in a variety of settings have revealed that
high-quality evidence is not being consistently applied in practice. For example, although several randomized trials have shown that statins can decrease the risk of mortality and morbidity in poststroke patients, statins are considerably underprescribed. In contrast, antibiotics are overprescribed in children with upper respiratory tract symptoms. A synthesis of 14 studies showed that many patients (26-95%) were dissatisfied with information given. Lavis et al. studied eight health policy-making processes in Canada. Citable health services research was used in at least one stage of the policy-making process for only four policies, and only one of these four policies had citable research used in all stages of the policy-making process. Similarly, evidence from systematic reviews was not frequently used by World Health Organization policy makers.