[Research utilization by health managers: validating a self-assessment tool]

A tool was adapted and evaluated for the self-assessment by health management teams of their capacity to utilize research, distinguishing between its acquisition, analysis, adaptation and application.

The tool was translated into Spanish and a manual was created. The manual was submitted for authorization to the Ethics Committee of the National Public Health Institute of Mexico. The kit was sent to 122 units (response rate of 84.4%), covering a wide range of institutions in six contrasting states of Mexico according to the Human Development Index (HDI). The tool was validated internally and externally using statistical methods.

Differences were observed in the teams' research utilization capacity within each phase, regardless of their composition by gender, experience or academic level but with differences according to the extent of involvement in patient care and to the states' HDI.

The tool was validated both internally and externally for its application under widely varying conditions in Mexico. The tool can be applied in any Spanish speaking country.