Importance of institutional arrangements in translating aging research into policy and practice: Findings from a cross-country survey in the arab world

Background The socioeconomic challenges of rapid population aging in Arab countries have lit the embers of growing aging research. The extent to which research is translated into evidence-based policymaking, however, has not been addressed. This paper attempts to examine how institutional arrangements and knowledge production interrelate to inform policy and practice.

Methods A cross-country mapping survey on aging policies and programs was conducted for 20 Arab countries in 2012. Drawing on the Madrid Plan of Action on Aging guidelines and the recent WHO Knowledge Translation on Ageing and Health publication, composite scores were generated for knowledge creation (e.g. research networks/reports/studies ..), institutional arrangements (e.g. departments/national committees …), and knowledge translation (e.g. policy briefs, linkages efforts …). Due to a large proportion of missing data, four countries were excluded from the analysis.

Results The Arab region scored highest in knowledge creation (5.8), followed by institutional arrangements (4.6) and least in knowledge translation (2.9). Bivariate analysis showed that both knowledge creation and institutional arrangements significantly correlate with knowledge translation (correlation coefficient 0.63, p-value 0.009; 0.79, p-value <0.001, respectively). However, in multivariate analysis and controlling for Human Development Index, only institutional arrangements retained significant association with knowledge translation (p-value 0.04).

Conclusions These preliminary results underscore the value of institutional arrangements and political commitment in catalyzing the translation of aging research into policy and practice.