Mind the gap

Abstract

In this issue of Australian Health Review, the contributing authors explore the issues associated with their attempts to bridge the well recognised gap between research and practice in health policy and management. We have heard that it took nearly 200 years from the time that a cure was found for scurvy to the time when the new practices were adopted by the British navy.1 Perhaps the timeframes are not as long, but there still appears to be little evidence of research informing policy development and management practice in health care. There have been discussions over many years in many disciplines on the most appropriate ways to bridge this gap.