Exploring the impact of primary health care research

Final Report Stage 2 Primary Health Care Research Impact project
- PHC RIS Research team
Libby Kalucy, Eleanor Jackson Bowers, Ellen McIntyre, Ann-Louise Hordacre, Richard Reed,
Australia: Primary Health Care Research & Information Service - February 2009

Available online as PDF file [54p.] at:
http://www.phcris.org.au/phplib/filedownload.php?file=/elib/lib/downloaded_files/publications/pdfs/phcris_pub_8108.pdf

“…..This report presents the results of a study conducted in 2007 by the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service, on seventeen diverse primary health care research projects funded by national competitive grants in Australia. The study aimed to examine, from the perspective of the chief investigators (CIs), the impact of these research projects and to explore how their projects
made an impact….”

“….Measuring the impact of primary health care research is an important but inexact science. While a research team has a great deal of influence on the outputs and immediate outcomes of their research project, the process of transferring research findings into practice and policy is convoluted and indirect. It can take many years for the findings of a research project to result in changes in health outcomes and health services. The longer the time, the more difficult it is to track impacts reliably and attribute them to the project. Changes to practice and policy are usually the result of evidence from a whole body of work, rather than from a single research project…” Libby Kalucy

Contents
Preface
Executive summary
Recommendations to enhance impact
For Research Funders
For Researchers
For the Australian Government
For PHC RIS8
Introduction
Methodology
The sample
Questionnaire design
What difference does Primary Health Care research make?
Impacts Expected by Chief Investigators
Impacts achieved overall
Impacts achieved by domain
Research Transfer
University engagement with user groups
Enhanced relationships for research transfer
Knowledge Production
Research Targeting and Capacity Building
Informing policy and product development
Policy development
Organisational decision making
Use in Education
Informed Product Development
Use in practice guidelines or a systematic review
Health and Health Sector Benefits
Implemented in Practice and/or Service Delivery
Contributed to more equitable allocation of resources, better targeting of resources or improved access to services
Cost Savings
Improved Health Outcomes
Intellectual Property Gains
Broader Economic Benefits.
Improvements in population health
Other economic and social impacts
Summary
What are the pathways to impact?
Research Transfer
Knowledge Production
Research Targeting and Capacity Building
Informing Policy and Product Development
Involvement of policy makers in the research informed policy development
Involvement with multiple related projects enhanced policy impact
Chief Investigator’s participation on committees
Incorporation of the findings into education programs and professional guidelines
Facilitating organisations
Congruence with Government agendas enhanced policy impact
Champions
Health and the Health Sector
Inclusion in an education program
Raising awareness
Impact on health outcomes
Longer term impacts
Broader economic benefits
Theoretical models of pathways to impact
Linkage and exchange
Social embeddedness and social capital
Role of ideas
Communities of practice
Discussion
Dissemination
Limitations of the study
Further research on research impact
Conclusions
References
Appendix 1: Brief project descriptions
Appendix 2: Sample summary
Appendix 3: The questionnaire
Appendix 4: Impacts of research projects in relation to their intention
Appendix 5: Comparison of results with other studies of research impact using the Payback Framework
Appendix 6: Journals in which articles from study sample were published, with impact factors