Research collaboration in Tehran University of Medical Sciences: two decades after integration

Abstract

Background: In 1985 medical schools were integrated into the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education was created in Iran. Under this infrastructure education, research and service provision are unified, and it is expected that collaboration between researchers and decision makers become easier in such an integrated context. The question here is how the researchers behavior in the biggest medical university of the country towards collaboration is, i.e. how much do decision makers participate in different stages of research? Which factors affect it?Methodology: The samples under study were all Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) completed research projects that had gotten grants in 2004 and were over by the time this study was done. Two questionnaires were designed for this study: i) the research checklist which was filled for 301 projects, ii) the researcher's questionnaire, which was sent to principle investigators, 208 of which were collected. Multiple linear regression analysis was used for evaluating the potential factors affecting individuals 'collaboration score'.Results: Only 2.2 percent of TUMS' projects initiated in 2004 have had collaboration as a joint PI or coinvestigator from non-academic organizations. The principle investigators mean collaboration score was 2.09, where 6 was the total score. So the collaboration score obtained was 35%. The 'type of research' had significant association with the collaboration score which is shown in the linear regression; collaboration was seen more in clinical (p = 0.007) and health system researches (p = 0.001) as compared to basic research.

Knowledge translation in Iranian universities: need for serious interventions

“…Previous studies indicated that only 3–6% of funding for research in the East Mediterranean region countries, including Iran, has come from non-governmental or private sectors [ 10 ]. This figure amounted to around 6% in the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), which is the biggest medical university in Iran [ 11 ]. These findings suggest that the government is the main source of financial support for research in medical universities in Iran.…”

Strengthening evidence-based decision-making: is it possible without improving health system stewardship?

“…The absence of collaboration will affect co-operation in research. This issue was scrutinized in a quantitative study performed in the biggest medical university in Iran, with the findings demonstrating that the level of collaboration was not desirable (Majdzadeh et al 2009b).…”

An assessment of health research impact in Iran

“…Almost half the project results had been used by the researcher (themselves) or other researchers to define future projects. This rate was 32% in another study conducted in Iran [ 26 ], whereas in studies conducted in other countries it was reported at 23%, 44.9% and 65% [ 9 , 12 , 13 ]. This shows that half of the studies are not related to their subsequent studies, a point worth reflecting upon.…”

“…Moreover, a specific organization, policymaker, manager, and/or the industry have ordered 10.24% of the studies. Other studies in Iran have estimated this figure at 11.8% [ 25 ] and 16% [ 26 ]. This figure is similar to that of securing research grants from other organizations.…”