How can scientists bring research to use: the HENVINET experience

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health Sciences
• Public Health Policy
• Interdisciplinary Research

Background:

• European environmental policies increasingly address complex health concerns.
• An interdisciplinary approach and societal engagement are crucial for tackling these issues.
• The Health and Environment Network (HENVINET) was established to foster collaboration between health and environmental professionals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe how HENVINET bridged the communication gap between science, policymakers, and society.
• To establish a permanent interdisciplinary network for health and environment professionals.
• To develop and implement novel methods and tools for environmental health research and policy advice.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Drivers-Pressures-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) framework for information structuring.
• Developed interactive web-based tools for knowledge evaluation and policy formulation.
• Adapted quantification methods to assess scientific agreement and employed open architecture web technology for collaboration.

Main Results:

• HENVINET involved 30 organizations over 3.5 years, including diverse scientific and policy expertise.
• Developed web-based tools for visualizing environmental health issues and facilitating remote expert elicitation.
• Produced policy advice in five key health areas and established a searchable database of decision support tools.

Conclusions:

• HENVINET successfully addressed interdisciplinary research challenges and improved science-policy communication.
• The project delivered a common framework and novel tools, demonstrating the production of politically relevant scientific advice.
• HENVINET highlighted the benefits of integrating social sciences and adopting critical complexity thinking in environmental health research.