| |
|
Libby Kalucy, PHC RIS
Research impact is a long way from the thoughts of many researchers, who at this time of year are immersed in complicated and demanding funding submission processes. The impact they hope for, to reward their hard work, is being awarded a research grant towards the end of the year. Yet the chances of their research having an impact beyond academia are sown at this early stage, through the choice of a research question, design of methods, and the selection of the research team members and their partners. This was confirmed by our recent PHC RIS study1 which explored the impact of primary health care research, and how it came about.
We found that research was more likely to have an impact on primary health care practice and policy when the topics were congruent with current policy and practice agendas through the research team members' relationships to these areas. Partnerships between researchers and potential users of the research assisted with exchange of information, understanding other perspectives, and presenting the results at the right times and in appropriate ways.
The researchers we surveyed were very active disseminators of their research findings through written, electronic and verbal means. Writing journal articles and reports is essential to contribute to the body of knowledge, as well as meeting the requirements of academia for assessment of research quality. However, chief investigators considered that using their professional networks, involving potential users, and presenting their work to policy makers were more important in achieving research impact than writing.
An important part of a researcher's network was their relationship to organisations like the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health. When researchers were associated with such organisations, their work could contribute to the development of professional and curriculum guidelines. By acting as network hubs, conference convenors and sources of information, such organisations were very important facilitators of research impact.
Reference
1. Kalucy E, Jackson Bowers E, McIntyre E, Hordacre AL, Reed R. (2009). Exploring the impact of primary health care research. Final Report Stage 2 Primary Health Care Research Impact project. Adelaide: PHC RIS.<www.phcris.org.au/activities/rip/>
|
