Perspectives in Evidence-Based Policymaking in the Context of Bullying Prevention

Introduction: Bullying has been recognized as a serious public health issue both nationally and internationally. Policies at the organizational and legislative levels have become a popular mechanism attempted to prevent these behaviors. However, bullying prevention policymaking has been separated from the research and evidence that emerge from related empirical studies.

Methods: The purpose of this study was to explore factors that affect the application of different forms of data, evidence, and information in the policymaking process. In particular, legislation related to bullying prevention in the State of Hawai‘i was explored as a case study. The topic was examined using document review (testimony relating to Hawai‘i’s bullying prevention bill) and stakeholder interviews with organizational professionals and state legislators.

Results: A total of 21 individuals were interviewed for this study – 11 organizational professionals, and 10 state legislators (senators and house members). Also, a total of 109 pieces of testimony were examined, 101 submitted by adults, and eight submitted by youth. Of the adult testimonies, 66 were submitted by individuals in their professional capacities, 7 were submitted by parents of children who had experienced bullying, and 28 were submitted by community members. Results indicated diverse views with regards to the accessibility of policymakers and the policymaking process, as well as the framing of bullying as an issue and the state of bullying prevention policymaking in Hawai‘i. A cross-cutting theme which emerged from discussions of balancing different types of data sources was the critical importance of collaboration. This included not only partnership between researchers and community members in general, but more specifically the formation of a strategic collaboration with key stakeholders invested in a particular topic area

Conclusion: Findings suggest that more research and evaluation are needed that are geared towards eliciting more details regarding evidence use in policymaking decisions. In addition, collaboration emerged as an important component of the policymaking process, which should engage stakeholders in meaningful and strategic ways to ensure strength in numbers and to bolster social and political capital around an issue.