Studies of any knowledge translation strategy aimed at health practitioners who were focused on prevention and health promotion in a public health or community setting were eligible for inclusion. Knowledge translation strategies had to be aimed at building capacity for evidence-informed decision-making by promoting or facilitating the use of research evidence. Eligible study designs were randomised controlled trials (RCTs), cluster RCTs and non-RCTs, controlled before-and-after studies and interrupted time series analyses. Outcomes of interest included change in knowledge (such as improved test score evaluating respondents' knowledge); skill (such as commissioning and interpreting evidence); or practice (including a change in behaviour, policy or practice). A change in attitude was not included.
Health practitioners in included studies were involved in a number of disciplines including mental health, preventative adolescent substance abuse services, healthy body weight promotion, immunisation and cancer screening. The interventions varied widely between studies (details reported in review). Most of the studies evaluated outcomes immediately after the intervention, one study evaluated outcomes at six months post intervention. Studies were conducted in the USA, Canada, Norway and England.
Two reviewers independently selected studies for inclusion.