Implementing health research through academic and clinical partnerships: a realistic evaluation of the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC)

Abstract

BackgroundThe English National Health Service has made a major investment in nine partnerships between higher education institutions and local health services called Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC). They have been funded to increase capacity and capability to produce and implement research through sustained interactions between academics and health services. CLAHRCs provide a natural 'test bed' for exploring questions about research implementation within a partnership model of delivery. This protocol describes an externally funded evaluation that focuses on implementation mechanisms and processes within three CLAHRCs. It seeks to uncover what works, for whom, how, and in what circumstances.Design and methodsThis study is a longitudinal three-phase, multi-method realistic evaluation, which deliberately aims to explore the boundaries around knowledge use in context. The evaluation funder wishes to see it conducted for the process of learning, not for judging performance. The study is underpinned by a conceptual framework that combines the Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services and Knowledge to Action frameworks to reflect the complexities of implementation. Three participating CLARHCS will provide in-depth comparative case studies of research implementation using multiple data collection methods including interviews, observation, documents, and publicly available data to test and refine hypotheses over four rounds of data collection. We will test the wider applicability of emerging findings with a wider community using an interpretative forum.DiscussionThe idea that collaboration between academics and services might lead to more applicable health research that is actually used in practice is theoretically and intuitively appealing; however the evidence for it is limited. Our evaluation is designed to capture the processes and impacts of collaborative approaches for implementing research, and therefore should contribute to the evidence base about an increasingly popular (e.g., Mode two, integrated knowledge transfer, interactive research), but poorly understood approach to knowledge translation. Additionally we hope to develop approaches for evaluating implementation processes and impacts particularly with respect to integrated stakeholder involvement.

Collective action for knowledge mobilisation: a realist evaluation of the Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care

“…It is widely acknowledged that, to date, relatively little attention has been paid to T2; 28,29 however, CLAHRCs are one type of approach to closing this gap. As an example of a partnership model to knowledge mobilisation, the CLAHRC initiative has focused on translating high-quality research to meet the needs of patient groups through increasing capacity and capability by collaboration between academia and practice.…”

“…As an example of a partnership model to knowledge mobilisation, the CLAHRC initiative has focused on translating high-quality research to meet the needs of patient groups through increasing capacity and capability by collaboration between academia and practice. 28 This approach embodies the view of KT as an 'iterative, reciprocal exchange that takes place between researchers and research users'. 30 Although the benefits of collaboration provide a potentially attractive solution to the challenges of evidence use, the pathway from developing collaborative partnerships to the implementation of research or evidence in practice is far from straightforward, and yet to be established.…”

A realist analysis of hospital patient safety in Wales: applied learning for alternative contexts from a multisite case study

“…[2][3][4][5][6] Since 2000, understandings of the prevention, detection and mitigation of harm have improved. 4,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13] Crucially, from an earlier concentration on individual factors, it is now recognised that the consistent delivery of high-quality, safe and effective health care is complex and multidimensional.…”

Models and applications for measuring the impact of health research: update of a systematic review for the Health Technology Assessment programme

“…In summary, a realist approach to research impact is centrally concerned with looking at how different research programmes may have different impacts in different settings. Empirical studies applying realist methodology to the evaluation of research impact are currently sparse, 166 but the approach is rapidly growing in popularity in the health-care field, and hence we flag it here as a potential (if largely untested) option. …”