Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Knowledge translation (KT) is a common term used among current health researchers and literature to describe the process(es) and products that "make research matter". The concept of KT has been widely promoted and prioritized by funding agencies and research institutions. In recent years, scholars who work in Indigenous research contexts have drawn attention to how aspects of mainstream concepts and language around KT are inadequate and inappropriate for research with Indigenous communities. In the context of an ongoing health disparity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Canada, there is an urgent and critical need to know how to assess relevance and rigor of Indigenous KT principles and practices in health research. This research project will produce: 1) a systematic review of KT practices used for health research with Indigenous populations; 2) an inventory of Indigenous KT initiatives in Canada from 2005-2015 to the present using a web-based survey; and 3) highlights of best practice principles in Indigenous KT within Canada, based on an in-depth study. The systematic review, inventory, and best practices will form the basis for an evaluation tool to assess the quality and relevance of Indigenous KT in health research. The evaluation tool will then be systematically tested refined, based inter-rater reliability (the level of agreement between reviewers using the evaluation tool) on randomly selected health research articles on health interventions. The results from this study will produce a systematic review that synthesizes information for evidence-informed policy and practices, researchers, and research stakeholders. The inventory and in-depth study will make exemplary Indigenous KT practices and products accessible and visible. Most importantly, this research will produce a concrete and tested tool that bridges knowledge gaps between health policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and Indigenous community stakeholders alike.