Advice or Advocacy – Varying Perceptions of Health Services and Policy Researcher Activities

The line between objective advice and advocacy may be blurred for health services and policy researchers who work closely with policy makers. Our study of 22 participants' perceptions of a five-part fictional scenario in which a researcher has increasing involvement with the ministry of health found extensive variation in what participants perceived to be objective advice or advocacy. Based on this variation, we believe that health services and policy researchers cannot completely avoid the risk of being perceived as issue advocates, whether by peers or by policy makers, and suggest some possible ways to mitigate risk.