Knowledge Translation in Health Promotion April 5th, 2026

For my topic, I think the most feasible approach is a combination of integrated knowledge translation (iKT) and end-of-project KT, with iKT being the primary approach. My topic focuses on medication safety and health literacy among older adults after discharge home, which is an area where the “know-do gap” is influenced by much more than a lack of evidence alone. It is also viewed by communication, discharge processes, caregiver involvement, regimen complexity, and the realities older adults face once they leave hospital. Research on medication safety after discharge shows that these transitions are often affected by fragmented communication, uncertainty, and difficulty managing complex medication regimens at home (Pereira et al., 2022).

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The integrated approach involves knowledge users throughout the project from start to finish. For my topic, those knowledge users would include older adults, family caregivers, nurses, discharge planners, pharmacists, and other providers involved in transitions in care. Their involvement would be important in creating the research question, identifying what information is most needed, and helping ensure that any intervention or resource is practical, understandable, and relevant to the discharge context. iKT  is grounded in co-creation, trust and active participation, which makes it especially appropriate for topics that depend heavily on context and lived experience like mine (Nguyen et al., 2020).

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National Collaboration Centre for Methods and Tools

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The end-of-project KT is also important because the  findings still need to be translated into tangible forms that different audiences can actually use. For my topic, this could include plain-language discharge materials, medication tools, caregiver resources, practice recommendations, or education for providers. Health promotion and KT share many strategies and goals, especially when it comes to supporting behaviour change, participation, and putting the knowledge into practice! (Paterson et al., 2016).

iKT is my preferred approach due to the context and lived experience. When it comes to medication safety, after discharge is not something that can be improved through one-way dissemination alone. Collaboration with the people affected, attention to equity and health literacy, and ongoing exchange throughout the project are all necessary.

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Nguyen, T., Graham, I. D., Mrklas, K. J., Bowen, S., Cargo, M., Estabrooks, C. A., ... & Wallerstein, N. (2020). How does integrated knowledge translation (IKT) compare to other collaborative research approaches to generating and translating knowledge? Learning from experts in the field. Health Research Policy and Systems, 18(1), 1–20. 

Paterson, M., Lagosky, S., & Mason, R. (2018). Health promotion and knowledge translation: two roads to the same destination? Global Health Promotion, 25(3), 65-69. 

 Pereira, F., Bieri, M., Martins, M. M., Del Río Carral, M., & Verloo, H. (2022). Safe Medication Management for Polymedicated Home-Dwelling Older Adults after Hospital Discharge: A Qualitative Study of Older Adults, Informal Caregivers and Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives. Nursing reports 12(2), 403–423.