Knowledge Translation through Research-Based Theatre

Abstract

This case documents the metamorphosis of an academic public health project on the implementation of Ontario's return-to-work policies and practices into a community theatre project, the production of a play called Easy Money. The result was a highly successful knowledge translation initiative. Injured workers, the focus of the academic study, intensely identified with the play and were given hope that their individual experiences could be broadly translated. For the researchers, the undertaking provided new perspectives on the original research problem, validated their original findings and generated numerous topics for subsequent research.