Brokering the Evidence-Practice Gap: A Strategy for Moving Evidence Into Clinical Practice

Moving novel, evidence-based interventions into broad community use is challenging. This column describes how a mid-level public health administrator acted in the role of broker to link university-based researchers with maternal health clinical staff to successfully implement an innovative, evidence-based maternal depression treatment. Program evaluation assessed adoption, implementation, reach, and effectiveness. In reflecting on this partnership, the broker provided critical elements of access, credibility, and accountability. A partnership between service providers and research teams provides one strategy to disseminate evidence-based practices among those served by public-health programs.