Critical Challenges in Making Health Services Research Relevant to Decision Makers

Health services research is an applied field that seeks to inform the policy debate and implementation experience by drawing on evidence-based research and analysis that is relevant at the national, state, and local levels. The Moore, Fischer, and Havranek (2015) paper in this issue is one of a series commissioned by AcademyHealth for a workshop seeking insight from inside and outside the health sector on ways to support the field in making research relevant to potential user audiences in the policy and practice world (Gluck and Hoadley 2015). In this Commentary, the author discusses how the environment in which our research is received and used creates opportunities but also challenges to relevance that warrant greater consideration and active discussion within the health services research community.