Date Thesis Awarded
4-2015
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
Interdisciplinary Studies
Advisor
Scott Ickes
Committee Members
David Aday
Amy Quark
Abstract
A push for evidence-based decision making in the field of international
development –including maternal and child nutrition— has sparked a “data
revolution.” Researchers in the developed world have generated vast amounts of
open source data under the assumption that because of the breadth of Internet
access across the globe, anyone and everyone will utilize the data. And yet, in
developing countries, policy and practice remains largely uninformed by such
evidence. This gap between data supply and data demand is a market failure that
not only reflects systemic power dynamics, but also perpetuates under-informed
policy and practice. Through an in-depth survey with 42 nutrition
policymakers and practitioners involved in the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)
movement in Uganda, this study examines the constraints and incentives that such
decision makers face to using evidence in their work. This paper seeks to mitigate
the effects of marginalization by increasing critical thought and action between
researchers and decision makers, a key prerequisite for social change. We present
recommendations for inclusive data dissemination strategies in the hopes of
improving evidence uptake across the developing world.
Recommended Citation
Mahoney, Emily, "Evidence Uptake among International Nutrition Actors: A Case Study in Uganda" (2015). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 160.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/160
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