Knowledge into Action

Course status:

Applications being accepted

Location:

Rewley House1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA

Dates:

12/04/2027 - 16/04/2027

Study format:

Short intensive

Fees:

From £2,905.00 to £3,520.00

Using research evidence to inform clinical care and policymaking In the past 20 years, evidence based healthcare (EBHC) has earned its place as the dominant paradigm for informing clinical practice and policymaking. But despite a generation of research into ‘implementation science’, the gap between what we know from research evidence and what we do in the clinic, at the bedside and around the policymaking table has remained stubbornly difficult to close. This module aims to introduce you to implementation science and related interdisciplinary perspectives on the links between research evidence, practice and policy. It has three main messages:

First, implementation problems are typically complex, messy, unique, idiosyncratic and ‘wicked’ (that is, with no clean solution). Evidence-into-practice frameworks are useful up to a point, but negotiating compromises and ‘muddling through’ may be equally key to your success.
Second, knowledge takes different forms. Whilst published research knowledge is important, so are the embodied knowledge of the experienced clinician, the local knowledge of the street-level bureaucrat and the socially shared knowledge of communities of practice. Effective strategies for implementing evidence draw on multiple forms of knowledge.
Third, whilst there are no quick fixes or universal answers, there are nevertheless some important principles that apply at different levels of intervention (individual, group, organisation, system), and implementation gets easier once you know those principles.

Lectures and seminars will cover models and tools for implementing evidence, including the popular ‘knowledge to action’ (KTA) framework (Figure 1). But it will also problematise and critique KTA (and ‘frameworks’ more generally). We will explore, for example, the tensions between explicit and tacit knowledge, the role of values and power struggles in the policymaking process and the complexities of health system change. We will also consider more collaborative (‘co-creation’) approaches to research in which the knowledge-action link might be better expressed as ‘knowledge through action’. Practical exercises and interdisciplinary group work will help you to apply your learning in a project to improve the use of research evidence in your local workplace setting. It will not, however, give you a quick fix or a magic formula – or take the politics out of policymaking. The last date for receipt of complete applications is 12 noon, Thursday 18th March 2027. Regrettably, late applications cannot be accepted. Figure 1.

*Figure 1 By the end of this module, we anticipate that students will be able to:

Understand, apply and evaluate the process of translating knowledge into action within a healthcare system;
Identify different models and frameworks for studying how research evidence is implemented in clinical practice and give a critical account of their strengths and limitations;
Discuss why doctors and other clinicians may fail to follow clinical guidelines;
Explain the interacting contributions of research evidence, values and power struggles in healthcare policymaking;
Design, monitor and evaluate an intervention to support the implementation of evidence in a particular case study in clinical practice (including identifying and overcoming barriers at individual, team and organisational level and involving service users);
Produce a written case study of an attempt to implement evidence in a real-world setting.

Comments from previous participants "This was the best module I have attended so far on the MSc programme. It has helped identify 'the gap' in my ability to transfer knowledge into action and given me some useful strategies and theory to underpin my work." "This has been a very practical and insightful module to enlighten me about the complexities and intricacies of a very important process of translating evidence into action." "Excellent application of theoretical concepts to real life problems / situations."

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Selection criteria

Admissions Criteria:
To apply for the course you should:

Be a graduate or have successfully completed a professional training course
Have professional work experience in the health service or a health-related field
Be able to combine intensive classroom learning with the application of the principles and practices of evidence-based health care within the work place
Have a good working knowledge of email, internet, word processing and Windows applications (for communications with course members, course team and administration)
Show evidence of the ability to commit time to study and an employer’s commitment to make time available to study, complete course work and attend course and university events and modules
Be able to demonstrate English Language proficiency at the University’s higher level.

Accommodation

Accommodation is available at the Rewley House Residential Centre, within the Department for Continuing Education, in central Oxford. The comfortable, en-suite, study-bedrooms have been rated as 4-Star Campus accommodation under the Quality In Tourism scheme, and come with tea- and coffee-making facilities, free Wi-Fi access and Freeview TV. Guests can take advantage of the excellent dining facilities and common room bar, where they may relax and network with others on the programme. Accommodation is not included in the course fee.

IT requirements

Please ensure that you have access to a computer that meets the specifications detailed on our technical support page.

Programme details

This module is run over an eight week cycle where the first week is spent working on introductory activities using a Virtual Learning Environment, the second week is spent in Oxford for the face to face teaching week (this takes place on the dates advertised), there are then four Post-Oxford activities (delivered through the VLE) which are designed to help you write your assignment. You then have a week of personal study and you will be required to submit your assignment electronically the following week (usually on a Tuesday at 14:00 UK Local Time).

Assessment methods

Assessment will be based on submission of a written assignment which should not exceed 4,000 words.

Academic Credit

Applicants may take this course for academic credit. The University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education offers Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) points for this course. Participants attending at least 80% of the taught course and successfully completing assessed assignments are eligible to earn credit equivalent to 20 CATS points which may be counted towards a postgraduate qualification. If you wish to discuss this possibility, please ensure you contact the Programme team at cpdheath@conted.ox.ac.uk prior to applying for the course.

Applicants can choose not to take the course for academic credit and will therefore not be eligible to undertake the academic assignment offered to students taking the course for credit. Applicants cannot receive CATS (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme) points or equivalence. Credit cannot be attributed retrospectively. CATS accreditation is required if you wish for the course to count towards a further qualification in the future.

A Certificate of Completion is issued at the end of the course.

Applicants registered to attend ‘not for credit’ who subsequently wish to register for academic credit and complete the assignment are required to submit additional information, which must be received one calendar month in advance of the course start date. Please contact us for more details.

Please contact cpdhealth@conted.ox.ac.uk if you have any questions.

Jonathan Livingstone-Banks – Module Co-ordinator

Jonathan Livingstone-Banks is a lecturer & senior researcher in Evidence-Based Healthcare at the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences.

His research is primarily in the field of tobacco control, where he mostly conducts evidence syntheses. He is also interested in methodological research in this area.

He was managing editor and information specialist for the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group (CTAG), and he is still involved in many Cochrane Reviews on tobacco control topics.

He is also a philosopher interested in the philosophy of evidence-based healthcare; in particular the value and methods of evidence synthesis, and how we define and classify diseases and how this impacts on healthcare practice and medical research.

Angela Wu – Module Co-ordinator

Angela Wu is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and Oxford Tobacco Addiction Group. Her research lies at the intersection of psychology, anthropology, and public health, with a focus on understanding how social, environmental, and psychological contexts shape health behaviours—particularly in relation to smoking and tobacco use. Her research focuses on smoking cessation and harm reduction, particularly among underserved populations. She is involved in co-designing and evaluating interventions in social housing and financial support settings, and conducting systematic reviews on electronic cigarettes and vaping cessation.

Fees

Description	Costs
Module fee for 26/27 starters	£2905.00
Short Course in Health Sciences	£3520.00

Funding

Details of funding opportunities, including grants, bursaries, loans, scholarships and benefit information are available on our financial assistance page.

Discounts

If you are an employee of the University of Oxford and have a valid University staff card you may be eligible to receive a 10% discount on the full stand-alone fee. To take advantage of this offer please submit a scan/photocopy of your staff card along with your application. Your card should be valid for a further six months after attending the course.

If you are a current employee of the NHS, you may be eligible for our new NHS Short Course Bursary (or “NHS Bursary”), which offers a limited number of places at a 20% fee reduction. Please click on the link here to find out more.