UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Building capacity to use and undertake research in health organisations: a survey of training needs and priorities among staff

Barratt, HS; Fulop, NJ; (2016) Building capacity to use and undertake research in health organisations: a survey of training needs and priorities among staff. BMJ Open , 6 (12) , Article e012557. 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012557. Green open access

[thumbnail of e012557.full.pdf]
Preview
Text
e012557.full.pdf

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Efforts to improve healthcare and population health depend partly on the ability of health organisations to use research knowledge and participate in its production. We report the findings of a survey conducted to prioritise training needs among healthcare and public health staff, in relation to the production and implementation of research, across an applied health research collaboration. DESIGN: A questionnaire survey using a validated tool, the Hennessy-Hicks Training Needs Assessment Questionnaire. Participants rated 25 tasks on a five-point scale with regard to both their confidence in performing the task, and its importance to their role. SETTING: A questionnaire weblink was distributed to a convenience sample of 35 healthcare and public health organisations in London and South East England, with a request that they cascade the information to relevant staff. PARTICIPANTS: 203 individuals responded, from 20 healthcare and public health organisations. INTERVENTIONS: None. OUTCOME MEASURES: Training needs were identified by comparing median importance and performance scores for each task. Individuals were also invited to describe up to three priority areas in which they require training. RESULTS: Across the study sample, evaluation; teaching; making do with limited resources; coping with change and managing competing demands were identified as key tasks. Assessing the relevance of research and learning about new developments were the most relevant research-related tasks. Participants’ training priorities included evaluation; finding, appraising and applying research evidence; and data analysis. Key barriers to involvement included time and resources, as well as a lack of institutional support for undertaking research. CONCLUSIONS: We identify areas in which healthcare and public health professionals may benefit from support to facilitate their involvement in and use of applied health research. We also describe barriers to participation and differing perceptions of research between professional groups.

Type: Article
Title: Building capacity to use and undertake research in health organisations: a survey of training needs and priorities among staff
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012557
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012557
Language: English
Additional information: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Knowledge translation, Evidence use, Research participation, Training
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Applied Health Research
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1529989
Downloads since deposit
111Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item