How can healthcare organisations increase doctors’ research engagement? A scoping review
Journal of Health Organization and Management
ISSN: 1477-7266
Article publication date: 8 April 2024
Issue publication date: 18 April 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Clinician engagement in research has positive impacts for healthcare, but is often difficult for healthcare organisations to support in light of limited resources. This scoping review aimed to describe the literature on health service-administered strategies for increasing research engagement by medical practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
Medline, EMBASE and Web of Science databases were searched from 2000 to 2021 and two independent reviewers screened each record for inclusion. Inclusion criteria were that studies sampled medically qualified clinicians; reported empirical data; investigated effectiveness of an intervention in improving research engagement and addressed interventions implemented by an individual health service/hospital.
Findings
Of the 11,084 unique records, 257 studies were included. Most (78.2%) studies were conducted in the USA, and were targeted at residents (63.0%). Outcomes were measured in a variety of ways, most commonly publication-related outcomes (77.4%), though many studies used more than one outcome measure (70.4%). Pre-post (38.8%) and post-only (28.7%) study designs were the most common, while those using a contemporaneous control group were uncommon (11.5%). The most commonly reported interventions included Resident Research Programs (RRPs), protected time, mentorship and education programs. Many articles did not report key information needed for data extraction (e.g. sample size).
Originality/value
This scoping review demonstrated that, despite a large volume of research, issues like poor reporting, infrequent use of robust study designs and heterogeneous outcome measures limited application. The most compelling available evidence pointed to RRPs, protected time and mentorship as effective interventions. Further high-quality evidence is needed to guide healthcare organisations on increasing medical research engagement.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Eleanor Davis, medical student at Bond University, for assistance with screening, and A/Prof Rhea Liang, Bond University for co-supervision and comments on a draft of this manuscript.
Citation
Brandenburg, C., Stehlik, P., Noble, C., Wenke, R., Jones, K., Hattingh, L., Dungey, K., Branjerdporn, G., Spillane, C., Kalantari, S., George, S., Keijzers, G. and Mickan, S. (2024), "How can healthcare organisations increase doctors’ research engagement? A scoping review", Journal of Health Organization and Management, Vol. 38 No. 2, pp. 227-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHOM-09-2023-0270
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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