Survey of research activity among multidisciplinary health professionals

Abstract

Objective The aim of the present study was to describe the research activities being undertaken by health service employees within one Australian health service and explore their experiences with undertaking research. Methods The present mixed-methods study was conducted across one health service in Queensland, Australia, and included a cross-sectional online survey and interviews with healthcare service employees. The anonymous survey was a self-administered online questionnaire, distributed to all 6121 employees at the health service via email, asking about research activity and engagement. Willing participants were also interviewed on their perceptions and experiences with research and capacity building. Results In all, 151 participants responded to the survey and 22 participated in interviews. Three-quarters of respondents reported actively participating in research over the past 6 years and several research outputs, such as publications, conference presentations and competitive grant funding, were displayed. Four concepts emerged from interview findings, namely collaborative partnerships, skilled mentorship, embedding research and organisational support, which represented the overall theme 'opportunities for a research-infused health service'. Conclusion Employees of the health service recognised the importance of research and had a range of research skills, knowledge and experience. They also identified several opportunities for building research capacity in this service. What is known about the topic? Building research capacity among healthcare professionals is important for enabling the conduct of high-quality research in healthcare institutions. However, building research capacity is complex and influenced by the uniqueness of organisational context. In order to successfully build research capacity among employees at any health service, current research activity, skills and experience, as well as staff perceptions around building research capacity in that setting, should first be explored. What does this paper add? Healthcare services should incorporate teaching and research with clinical care to optimise outcomes for consumers. Support for research can be diminished in favour of clinical care and reduced emphasis on the importance of research can negatively influence research activity and expansion of clinician-led research. Highlighting the perceptions and experience of clinicians with enabling research and capacity building is a context-specific but necessary process to ensure that strategies, processes and resources are targeted to maintain support for research activity while overcoming barriers. What are the implications for practitioners? Participants in this study identified several ways to build research capacity in their health service, many of which may be applicable to other settings and contexts. Building research collaborations and academic partnerships are important to enable and drive research. Structural processes, such as organisational support and opportunities for skilled mentorship, m...

Exploring the research culture in the health information management profession in Australia

“…These findings were consistent with findings in other research where a higher level of academic training was predictive of higher research engagement (Finch et al, 2015). Practitioners in this study reported similar barriers and enablers to research as those in other health professions, including nursing, allied health and medicine (Akerjordet et al, 2012;Hiscock et al, 2014;Johnson et al, 2014;Marshall et al, 2016). While the most significant barriers were lack of time and research not being part of their work role (or not seen as being of value to their work role), barriers of 'not knowing what to research' and 'no interest in undertaking research' were identified by practitioners.…”

“…Furthermore, the definition of the health information profession could be broadened to specifically include research elements. Establishment of a centralised research support service or network would potentially build research capacity and facilitate more research (HIMAA, ,b, Marshall et al., ). This type of network would provide mentoring of participants through the design, ethics approval, analysis and publication phases; standardised and regulatory compliant processes; and an increase in professional leadership skills.…”

Taking the pulse of the health services research community: a cross-sectional survey of research impact, barriers and support

“…2,3 A 2005 audit of the Australian and New Zealand (NZ) HSR community revealed that most health service researchers were part-time and held another professional role, such as teaching or administration; in addition, a minority of respondents had employment contracts of greater than 5 years (32%) and reported working with a critical mass of health service researchers (41%). 2 The authors of that audit, 2 along with other international examples 3,4 and an Australian survey of research activities in one health service, 5 suggested there is a need to build the capacity of the HSR community. However, there are no recent data on the characteristics of the HSR community in Australia and NZ.…”

“…[10][11][12] However, publication in peerreviewed journals may not be a priority for service-based researchers, who may focus on other process-based metrics, such as clinical guideline development or implementation, cost-savings within a service or improved patient or professional knowledge or engagement. 5 An audit of Canadian-funded HSR reported close to one-third of HSR was conducted outside academic settings, such as regional health authorities (15%) and charitable organisations (16%). 4 These data suggest that much of HSR may be conducted outside academic settings and should be evaluated by metrics beyond publication and citation rates.…”

“…8 The finding aligns with a 2016 survey of research activity within an Australian health service that reported that 75% of health professionals had research experience. 5 If health professionals are an increasing subgroup within the critical mass needed to conduct HSR, they must be adequately supported and mentored in this role with executive support through position descriptions and dedicated time.…”