Evidence-Informed Practices in Health Policy and Research

Edited by:

Laura dos Santos Boeira, MsC, Instituto Veredas, Brazil
Luciane Cruz Lopes, PhD, University of Sorocaba, Brazil

Submission Status: Open | Submission Deadline: 17 December 2025

Health Research Policy and Systems is calling for submissions to our Collection on Evidence-Informed Practices in Health Policy and Research. This Collection aims to explore the integration of evidence-informed practices into health policy and research, including challenges in contextualizing global evidence to local settings, innovations on theory and methods, and lessons learned in capacity-sharing and stakeholder engagement. It welcomes all original and review articles on:
•   Strategies to integrate evidence-informed practices into health policy formulation and decision-making.
•   Evaluation of frameworks and tools for applying evidence in health systems governance.
•   Evidence-informed approaches to addressing health challenges in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).
•   Methods for stakeholder engagement – including citizens and civil society representatives - and co-production of evidence to inform policies and healthcare delivery.
•   Case studies of evidence-informed policymaking and lessons learned.
•   The role of interdisciplinary approaches and methods in advancing evidence-informed research.
•   Monitoring and evaluation of evidence-informed policy.
•   Barriers to evidence use, including political, social, and economic factors.
•   Cross-sectoral approaches linking health policy with social, environmental, and economic systems.

Image credit: © metamorworks / Getty Images

New Content Item This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health & Well-Being.

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About the Collection

Evidence-informed practices play a critical role in shaping effective, equitable, and sustainable health policies and systems. However, challenges such as limited resources, varying policy priorities, and barriers to the use of high-quality evidence often hinder their widespread adoption. This Collection seeks to address these issues by gathering cutting-edge research, frameworks, and case studies that highlight how evidence-informed approaches can be successfully implemented in health policy and research.
By focusing on practical solutions and lessons learned, this Collection aims to provide a platform for sharing innovative methodologies, technologies and collaborations that bridge the gap between research and policymaking. Contributors are encouraged to submit work that reflects diverse perspectives, including studies from low- and middle-income countries and those that emphasize the importance of equity, inclusivity, and interdisciplinary approaches.

The collection welcomes all original and review articles on:
•   Strategies to integrate evidence-informed practices into health policy formulation and decision-making.
•   Evaluation of frameworks and tools for applying evidence in health systems governance.
•   Evidence-informed approaches to addressing health challenges in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).
•   Methods for stakeholder engagement – including citizens and civil society representatives - and co-production of evidence to inform policies and healthcare delivery.
•   Case studies of evidence-informed policymaking and lessons learned.
•   The role of interdisciplinary approaches and methods in advancing evidence-informed research.
•   Monitoring and evaluation of evidence-informed policy.
•   Barriers to evidence use, including political, social, and economic factors.
•   Cross-sectoral approaches linking health policy with social, environmental, and economic systems.

This Collection aspires to promote a deeper understanding of how evidence-informed practices can transform health policies and systems globally, fostering equitable access to healthcare and improved health outcomes.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Laura dos Santos Boeira, MsC, Instituto Veredas, Brazil

Laura is the executive director at Instituto Veredas, Brazil, and co-director of the Latin American and the Caribbean Evidence Hub (Hub LAC). She is a member of the World Health’s Organization EVIPNet Global Steering Group and member of the Alliance for Living Evidence (Alive) Council. She is a PhD Candidate in Social Psychology in PUCRS, Brazil, and a member of the Brazilian Coalition for Evidence. She previously worked as a policy analyst for the Brazilian Ministry of Health and as a psychologist in the public health system. Laura is engaged in supporting evidence use in social policies in the LAC region, with specific focus on the role of equity in evidence-informed decision-making and in the institutionalization domains of evidence use.

Luciane Cruz Lopes, PhD, University of Sorocaba, Brazil

Luciane Lopes is a full professor in the Graduate Program in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil, with a focus on evidence-informed policymaking and health technology assessment (HTA). She holds a degree in Pharmacy and Biochemistry and a PhD in Clinical Pharmacology. Dr. Lopes has served as a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), contributing to initiatives such as Brazil's National List of Essential Medicines. As the leader of the SERIEMA-EVIPNet-Brazil Evidence Center and chair of the Latin American group of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE), she fosters regional and global collaborations. Fluent in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, Dr. Lopes has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications and is a recognized advocate for equity and efficiency in evidence-informed decision-making. Her work spans diverse sectors, including health, social protection, and international development, with a strong emphasis on the intersection of evidence synthesis and policymaking.

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original research articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal.

Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. Please, select the appropriate Collection title “Evidence-Informed Practices in Health Policy and Research" under the “Details” tab during the submission stage.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer-review process. The peer-review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.