International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Community Engagement as a Partnership Is an Essential Element of Evidence Informed Health Policy-Making; Comment on “Civil Society’s Evidence-Generating Role for Health Policy Decisions: A Thematic Analysis of a Healthcare Information for All (HIFA) Community Online Discussion”

Articles in Press

Document Type : Commentary

Author
Robert F. Terry
Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland
Abstract
Recent outbreaks and pandemics coupled with efforts to ensure universal health coverage demonstrate the importance of community engagement in evidence-informed health policy-making. Commenting on Gopinathan and colleagues’ thematic analysis of a Healthcare Information for All (HIFA) online discussion, this commentary argues that civil society organizations should be recognized as advocates, generators and interpreters of evidence. The HIFA analysis highlights the diversity of civil society and that meaningful participation requires institutionalized mechanisms where experiential, tacit and local knowledge can complement formal research evidence. It also highlights important constraints, including self-selection, unequal representation and wider political economy factors that shape whether such evidence influences policy. This commentary draws on TDR-supported research to illustrate how communities can help identify research priorities, co-design interventions, generate data, and interpret findings. It concludes: engagement has greatest value when communities are treated as partners in knowledge production and decisionmaking, rather than as consultees or research participants only.
Keywords
Community Engagement
Social Participation
Evidence-Informed Policy-Making
Implementation Research
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 10 November 2026

  • Received Date 15 July 2026
  • Revised Date 26 October 2026
  • Accepted Date 26 October 2026
  • First Published Date 10 November 2026
  • Published Date 10 November 2026