This article explores the mismatch between the information needs of policy makers in the area of long term care (LTC) and the information available to them. It presents lessons and recommendations drawn from a research process involving interviews, a literature and web search, and a discussion of findings with 34 researchers and policy makers.

In long-term care (LTC), academic-quality research is not reaching policy makers. Policy makers want information that is simple, locally generated, timely, and germane to the problems they face now and could face in the future. Researchers do not have access to predictable funding for comparative or policy related purposes. Organizations are needed that show a clear commitment to effective information brokering over the long haul.

The article describes the methods "information brokers" use to bridge the research and policy-making communities and the factors affecting their ability to do so.