BackgroundGetting research into policy and practice in healthcare is a recognised, world-wide concern. As an attempt to bridge the gap between research and practice, research funders are requesting more interdisciplinary and collaborative research, while actual experiences of such processes have been less studied. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to gain more knowledge on the interdisciplinary, collaborative and partnership research process by investigating researchers’ experiences of and approaches to the process, based on their participation in an inventive national research programme. The programme aimed to boost collaborative and partnership research and build learning structures, while improving ways to lead, manage and develop practices in Swedish health and social services.MethodsInterviews conducted with project leaders and/or lead researchers and documentation from 20 projects were analysed using directed and conventional content analysis.ResultsCollaborative approaches were achieved by design, e.g. action research, or by involving practitioners from several levels of the healthcare system in various parts of the research process. The use of dual roles as researcher/clinician or practitioner/PhD student or the use of education designed especially for practitioners or ‘student researchers’ were other approaches. The collaborative process constituted the area for the main lessons learned as well as the main problems. Difficulties concerned handling complexity and conflicts between different expectations and demands in the practitioner’s and researcher’s contexts, and dealing with human resource issues and group interactions when forming collaborative and interdisciplinary research teams. The handling of such challenges required time, resources, knowledge, interactive learning and skilled project management.ConclusionsCollaborative approaches are important in the study of complex phenomena. Results from this study show that allocated time, arenas for interactions and skills in project management and communication are needed during research collaboration to ensure support and build trust and understanding with involved practitioners at several levels in the healthcare system. For researchers, dealing with this complexity takes time and energy from the scientific process. For practitioners, this puts demands on understanding a research process and how it fits with on-going organisational agendas and activities and allocating time. Some of the identified factors may be overlooked by funders and involved stakeholders when designing, performing and evaluating interdisciplinary, collaborative and partnership research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12961-018-0322-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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The field of human factors and ergonomics constitutes a strong potential in systems analysis, design and improvement. However, it is difficult to communicate its potential value. This paper addresses how the human-technology-organization (HTO) concept can be defined and supports the understanding, communication and development of the systems' character and potential of human factors and ergonomics. Empirical examples from the authors' experiences of working with the HTO concept in R&D and teaching are illustrated, including its usefulness as: 1) a conceptual model; 2) an analysis framework; 3) a meta methodology; 4) a pedagogical tool; and 5) a design tool. The use of HTO provides guidance on how the system can be designed to better support health, individual and systems performance. It is further suggested that there is a strong potential for developing the theory, applications and methodological aspects of HTO.

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This article deals with the question of how change processes can create ergonomic improvements in small-and medium-sized industrial enterprises. Drawing on experiences from two described and analyzed case studies in small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and from ISO 9000 implementation processes previously studied, a hypothetical change framework is suggested through a theory generating approach. It separates change into action-driven change, which is an active experiential improvement process, and into vision-driven change, which is of a visionary design character. The ability to bring about problem solving into action was important for the success of the change processes. Furthermore, the nature of different hampering mechanisms concerning ergonomic improvements is discussed.

EVWUDFW This paper highlights experiences from ergonomics projects, applying an interactive research approach. The aim of this paper is to summarise experiences from seven interactive ergonomics projects with the aim to improve ergonomics and organizational performance jointly. Results from these seven projects were analysed with a model for assessing sustainable change, including the factors active ownership, professional management, competent project leadership, and involved participants. All factors were found giving support to impact and sustainability of the change projects. However, the role of the researcher is difficult and demanding.