Beyond impact factors: making your research count through better translation Clinical and Public Health Seminar April 2014 Associate Professor Harriet Hiscock Centre for Community Child Health Murdoch Childrens Research Institute The Royal Children's Hospital

What is research translation or translational research??

Terminology Research translation Knowledge transfer Knowledge broker Knowledge transfer and exchange Knowledge exchange Knowledge diffusion

Knowledge exchange: ‘the interaction between decision makers and researchers that results in mutual learning through the process of planning, producing, disseminating and applying existing or new research in decision making.’ - Canadian Healthy Services Research Foundation

Knowledge transfer: ‘the two way flow and uptake of ideas between the University of Melbourne and the broader community.’ ( University of Melbourne) ‘t he process through which one unit (eg group, department or division) is affected by the experience of another’ (Argote and Ingram, 1999)

Knowledge transfer and exchange: ‘An interactive process involving the interchange of knowledge between research users and research producers’ (Kiefer et al, 2005)

Difficulty in translating research findings Researchers, policy makers and clinicians – Have different agendas – Have different time frames – Use different language – Appeal to different constituencies Yet all have common goal of wanting to improve outcomes for children and families

Researchers and practitioners Researchers and practitioners live in different worlds – Researchers - academic focus, peer review – Practitioners - want to do the right thing for the patient in front of them Practitioners do not read peer reviewed journals Researchers don’t work in community settings caring for patients

Researchers Tend to be narrowly focused Obtain information from peer reviewed journals and academic meetings May have difficulty presenting technical or complex data in terms that non-scientists can readily grasp Long term focus - takes a long time to do quality research

Practitioners Broad focus - holistic view of child in context of family and community Challenge to keep up to date - CME taps into variety of sources and activities Need to understand relevance of research and policy to their practice and needs of patients Operate in the ‘here and now’ - change in practice has immediate consequences

Policymakers More broadly focused in their thinking Obtain information from media, public opinion Worry about pressure groups and sectional interests Political imperative - short term benefits

Models of translation

P.Szilagyi. Translational Research and Pediatrics. Academic Pediatrics ; 9, 71-80

Knowledge to action cycle Knowledge Funnel: inquiry, synthesis and tools (developed with end users) Action cycle (critical element) - adapting knowledge to local context-testing the knowledge in a range of contexts to determine the most effective approach. Graham, I.D. et al. (2007) Lost in knowledge translation: Time for a map, pp. 13–24, 87af-4ede f32c790e.aspx

Communications strategy: the how Knowledge exchange/transfer Key Stakeholder committees: the who

The Toolkit 3 steps 1.Brief research over view 2.Identify stakeholders - Power & Impact matrix 3.Design stakeholder engagement - levels of engagement - advisory vs reference groups

Name of StakeholderSectorValue to process/rolePrioritising*Level of Commitment Constraints / Limitations Organisation, group or individual Government (Local, State, Federal), Health (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary), Not-for-Profit, Community, Education, Research, Professional Bodies e.g. RASP, Business, Media, etc Expertise/knowledge Funding/Resources Influence/Leadership Consumer Voice Advocate/Champion Technology Underrepresented See Power & Impact Matrix. Do you need to Satisfy, Actively Engage, Monitor or Inform? Support or Oppose the research, to what extent and why? Need funds to participate, lack of personnel, political or other barriers Internal Stakeholders MCRI, RCH, Uni Melb External Stakeholders Identifying Stakeholders

High power Satisfy Opinion formers/Policy makers. Keep them satisfied with what is happening and review your analysis of their position regularly. Actively Engage* Key stakeholders who should be fully engaged through full communication and consultation. Low power Monitor This group may be ignored if time and resources are stretched. Inform Recipients of research such as Patients often fall into this category. It may be helpful to take steps to increase their influence by organising them into groups or taking active consultative work. Low impact/stake holdingHigh impact/stake holding Power & Impact Matrix Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Name of Stakeholder Potential level of Engagement *The level of engagement is likely to change at the different stages of the project.Engagement Method Organisation, group or individual a.Information giving b.Information gathering c.Consultation d.Participation e.Collaboration a.Newsletters, fact-sheets, website, publications, one-to-one communication via phone or , education modules etc b.One-to-one interviews, questionnaires, focus group c.Consultation papers, public meetings d. Research Participants, e. Advisory group, Research team, Steering committee Setting up the project Running the project Translation of findings Stakeholder engagement

Translation Toolkit Free resource available online facilities/clinical-research-development- office/other-research-resources/ facilities/clinical-research-development- office/other-research-resources/