{
  "abstract": "Background Governments can become involved in academic research to assist in public health decision-making, often to gain evidence to assist in policy decision-making, improve understanding of population health, or examine the effectiveness of a policy or program. However, when governments are involved, the research process can be influenced away from currently accepted best practices, potentially jeopardising research integrity, compromising the evidence created, and leading to altered government policy and practice choices, with detrimental implications for population health outcomes. Surprisingly, there is a lack of research on this issue. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review to establish the extent of the literature on government influence and the public health research process, detail key characteristics of that influence, and identify gaps in the literature.Methods We searched five electronic databases and grey literature. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text. The extracted data included the literature source, project characteristics, and nature of government influence reported. We categorised and analysed the results using descriptive numerical summaries and narrative synthesis.Results Literature and hand searches yielded 6890 unique documents; 71 were eligible for full review. In total, 17 documents describing government influence were included. Published from 2007–2021, most came from the UK (n=8) and/or Australia (n=11). In total, 126 modes of influence were reported, which could take multiple forms within one document and occur at any stage of the research process. ‘Direct’ influence was most frequently reported, while ‘subtle’ influence was reported least. Government influence was predominantly negative in 13 of 17 documents, with only one reporting solely positive influences. The most common motivator for government involvement in the research was reported as ‘policy-related’ (n=8), where the research project was designed to facilitate public health policy decisions. Notably, most of the reported influence involved research related to unhealthy commodities with commercial interests, such as alcohol, tobacco, and ultra-processed food.Conclusion Our scoping review summarises reported instances when governments have influenced the public health research process; few were positive. The results highlight a need for a deeper understanding of government-academic interactions and more transparent mechanisms for good practice. In doing so, we can foster positive interactions that create robust evidence for decision-making and encourage policy choices that support beneficial population health outcomes.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Helen Senior"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Michael Waller"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Navid Teimouri"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Institute of Population Health, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK"
      ],
      "name": "Simon Capewell"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "School of Public Health, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia"
      ],
      "name": "Katherine Cullerton"
    }
  ],
  "title": "P32 In what ways do governments influence the public health research process? A scoping review",
  "uid": "3f5706cf-2bfd-5a38-8277-b8193be7bc2e"
}