Building a methods bridge between public policy analysis and healthy public policy

The literature has only begun to consider what research is needed to support the development and implementation of healthy public policy initiatives. To date, a consistent methodological approach is recommended: multiple methods (document analysis and key informant interviews supplemented by quantitative data) with an aim toward understanding the perspective of key policy stakeholders. Currently, these methods are not the mainstay of policy analysis which is often driven more by a preference for technique (e.g., cost-benefit analysis) than by underlying epistemology or theory. Yet the explicit values of healthy public policy (intersectoral policy-making, public participation, etc.) suggest the importance of paying greater attention to epistemological and theoretical principles when making methodological choices.