Research and policy: What determines the relationship?

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Abstract
The relationship between research and policy is a matter of much current interest to policy makers in health. This paper uses historical approaches and case studies to examine the nature of the interrelationship. Drug policy (the evaluation of methadone maintenance in the 1970s and of needle exchange in the 1980s) and alcohol policy (the changing fortunes of the Ledermann hypothesis relating total alcohol consumption to population based harm) provide examples of how the relationship operates. Research can provide the legitimation for particular policy alliances; the role of medical civil servants and medical experts in the UK has historically played a crucial gatekeeping’ role.