Integrating research, practice, and policy: what we see depends on where we stand

In this special issue of the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, the editors have taken on the important challenge of characterizing the current landscape of knowledge translation research and practice in public health. This includes the diffusion of scientific and program evaluation evidence into public health practice and policy, the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based interventions in public health practice, and the complex issues associated with the meaning and methods of dissemination and implementation research. Three of the most important challenges for moving the field of dissemination and implementation science and research dissemination and implementation practice forward are the confusion of terminology, the meaning of evidence, and partnerships across the research, practice, and policy divides. Because many in the research, practice, and policy-making sectors do not see their role in closing the gap among research, practice, and policy, new and expanded incentives need to be put in place to encourage these collaborations. Partnerships between research, practice, and policy can help inform decisions in all three sectors to help achieve a better balance between evidence based on science and evidence based on personal experience.