Promising Practices in Knowledge Translation in Indigenous Contexts Using a Decolonial Approach

The article “Les pratiques prometteuses de transfert des connaissances en santé publique en contextes autochtones: une synthèse narrative Promising ” (Practices in Public Health Knowledge Translation in Indigenous Contexts: A Narrative Synthesis) was published in 2026 in the Revue francophone de recherche sur le transfert et l’utilisation des connaissances.

Background

Knowledge translation (KT) is essential not only to health research but also to public health initiatives, as it helps increase the impact of research findings on the health status of populations. However, in the field of Indigenous health, KT practices have long marginalized Indigenous knowledge and peoples, contributing to mixed results in improving the health of the populations concerned.

Method

The purpose of this article is to synthesize the current knowledge on promising KT practices in public health within Indigenous contexts in order to equip professionals working with Indigenous health organizations.

A systematic narrative review was conducted of the scientific and gray literature from CANZUS countries from 2013 to 2024. Studies that met the inclusion criteria and adhered to Indigenous research ethics were selected through an inter-rater process. The corpus was subjected to an inductive thematic analysis.

Results

The result is a conceptual framework that brings together promising KT practices in Indigenous contexts through a decolonial approach. The framework consists of seven dimensions, accompanied by ten criteria to guide the development of a KT project. This literature review addresses a knowledge gap regarding how to guide public health interventions aimed at addressing the social determinants of health, reducing social health inequalities, and improving health outcomes in Indigenous communities in Quebec.

Key Messages

Practices that engage key representatives of Indigenous communities or organizations and draw on their knowledge are essential to KT in health within Indigenous contexts.

No KT practice is inherently more ethically preferable or more effective; it is important to select the most appropriate ones based on a contextual analysis conducted with key Indigenous representatives prior to the project.