Research culture and capacity in community health services: results of a structured survey of staff

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma L. Friesen ◽  
Elizabeth J. Comino

Developing research capacity is recognised as an important endeavour. However, little is known about the current research culture, capacity and supports for staff working in community-based health settings. A structured survey of Division of Community Health staff was conducted using the research capacity tool. The survey was disseminated by email and in paper format. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. In total, 109 usable responses were received, giving a response rate of 26%. Respondents were predominately nurses (n=71, 65.7%), with ~50% reporting post-graduate vocational qualifications. The highest levels of skills or organisational success were in using evidence to plan, promote and guide clinical practice. Most participants were unsure of organisational and team level skills and success at generating research. Few reported recent experience in research-generating activities. Barriers to undertaking research included lack of skills, time and access to external support and funding. Lack of skills and success in accessing external funding and resources to protect research time or to ‘buy-in’ technical expertise appeared to exacerbate these barriers. Community health staff have limited capacity to generate research with current levels of skill, funding and time. Strategies to increase research capacity should be informed by knowledge of clinicians’ research experience and interests, and target development of skills to generate research. Resources and funding are needed at the organisational and team levels to overcome the significant barriers to research generation reported.

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma L. Friesen ◽  
Elizabeth J. Comino ◽  
Jennifer Reath ◽  
Alison Derrett ◽  
Maree Johnson ◽  
...  

The Primary and Community Health Research Unit was established in 2010 in south-west Sydney to build research capacity in primary and community health services and help generate evidence to underpin clinical activities. In 2011, six project teams participated in a 12-month researcher mentoring program, undertaking projects in quality improvement and service evaluation. Project teams were linked with academic mentors and participated in four research skill development workshops covering research design, research ethics, statistical analysis and academic writing. All project teams presented their work at two or more research conferences, and all are preparing manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals. The Primary and Community Health Research Unit’s approach to research capacity building in primary and community health services appears to be effective in supporting novice researchers to undertake research in their clinical settings. Sustainability is dependent on securing ongoing funding. Further analysis is needed to identify strengths and weaknesses of this approach.


1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Yelena Fridgant ◽  
Gawaine P. Powell Davies ◽  
Brian I. O'Toole ◽  
Luc Betbeder-Matibet ◽  
Mark F. Harris

A series of focus groups was conducted with general practitioners (GPs), community health workers, hospital staff and consumers to examine the issue of integration of general practice within the wider Australian health system. Groups were held in various urban and rural locations to provide coverage of urban and rural conditions. The groups had representation from managerial as well as service provider staff and included GPs, hospital discharge planners, and emergency department staff, and from community health staff, nurses, physiotherapists, mental health workers, occupational therapists, and educators. Agreement was widespread that enhanced integration would confer benefits to patients, GPs, other health professionals, and to the health system generally. However, the health system was seen to be limited in its ability to integrate services. General practice, as small business working within the public health system, had different procedures and methods of remuneration than other health system components. Barriers to integration included structural, procedural and organisational factors, and included communication difficulties, variability in the roles and expectations of various service providers, and resource allocation and methods of funding. It is necessary to examine the barriers to integration more closely within the context of each type of service, to investigate effective ways of overcoming these barriers, and to describe and quantify the benefits that might arise from increased integration.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel J. Wenke ◽  
Anna Tynan ◽  
Annette Scott ◽  
Sharon Mickan

The aim of the present case study is to illustrate the outcomes of a dedicated allied health (AH) research position within a large Queensland regional and rural health service. The secondary aim of the case study is to describe the enabling and hindering mechanisms to the success of the role. Semistructured interviews were conducted with the Executive Director of Allied Health and the current AH research fellow incumbent within the health service. A focus group was also undertaken with six stakeholders (e.g. clinicians, team leaders) who had engaged with the research position. Outcomes of the AH research fellow included clinical and service improvements, enhanced research culture and staff up-skilling, development of research infrastructure and the formation of strategic research collaborations. Despite being a sole position in a geographically expansive health service with constrained resources, key enabling mechanisms to the success of the role were identified, including strong advocacy and regular communication with the Executive. In conclusion, the case study highlights the potential value of an AH research position in building research capacity within a large non-metropolitan health service. Factors to facilitate ongoing success could include additional research and administrative funding, as well as increased use of technology and team-based research. What is known about the topic? Dedicated research positions embedded within health care settings are a well cited strategy to increase research capacity building of allied health professionals (AHPs). However the majority of these positions are within metropolitan health settings and unique challenges exist for these roles in regional and rural areas. Few studies have described the impact of dedicated AH research positions within regional health centres or the factors which facilitate or hinder their role. What does this paper add? Dedicated research positions within a non-metropolitan Australian health service may have a positive impact on AH clinical services, research culture, staff upskilling, research infrastructure and research collaborations. Key enabling mechanisms to support the role may include advocacy from higher level management, strong networks and communication channels. Additional research and administrative funding, the use of technology and team based research may enhance sustainability of such roles. What are the implications for practitioners? AH research positions have potential value in building research capacity within a large non-metropolitan health service. Health managers and researchers should be aware of the unique challenges to these roles and consider mechanisms that may best enhance and sustain outcomes of the positions including: the development of infrastructure (i.e. technology, website of resources), networks, and communication strategies (i.e. regular meetings with leadership and promotion internally).


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenling Hu ◽  
Huanqing Hu ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Aiqun Huang ◽  
Qi Yang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Antenatal care (ANC) played a crucial role in ensuring maternal and child safety and reducing the risk of complications, disability, and death in mothers and their infants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current status of ANC emphasizing the number, timing, and content of examinations on a national scale. Methods The data was collected from maternal and newborn’s health monitoring system at 8 provinces in China. After ethical approval, all pregnant women registered in the system at their first prenatal care visit, we included 49,084 pregnant women who had delivered between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018. Descriptive statistics of all study variables were calculated proportions and chi-square for categorical variables. Results Of the 49,084 women included in this study, the mean number of ANC visits was 6.95 ± 3.45. By percentage, 78.79% women received ANC examinations at least five times, 39.93% of the women received ANC examinations at least eight times and 16.66% of the women received ANC examinations at least 11 times. The proportion of first ANC examination in first trimester was 61.87%. The percentage of normative ANC examinations and the percentage of qualified ANC examinations were 30.98 and 8.03% respectively. Only 49.40% of the total women received all six kinds of examination items in first ANC examination: 91.47% received a blood test, 91.62% received a urine test, 81.56% received a liver function examination, 80.52% received a renal function examination, 79.07% received a blood glucose test, and 86.66% received a HIV/HBV/syphilis tests. 50.85% women received the first ANC examination in maternal and child health care (MCH) institutions, 14.07% in a general hospital, 18.83% in a township hospital, 13.15% in a community health services center, and 3.08% in an unspecified place. The proportion of women who received each of the ANC examination items in community health services center was the highest, but that in the MCH institutions was the lowest. Conclusions There is a big difference between the results of this study and the data in official reports, this study found the current status of antenatal care is not optimal in China, findings from this study suggest that the systematization, continuity and quality of ANC examinations need to be improved.


1958 ◽  
Vol 259 (7) ◽  
pp. 327-330
Author(s):  
Samuel B. Kirkwood

2021 ◽  
pp. 136749352110058
Author(s):  
Helen J Nelson ◽  
Catherine Pienaar ◽  
Anne M Williams ◽  
Ailsa Munns ◽  
Katie McKenzie ◽  
...  

Patient experience surveys have a user focus and measure the quality of person-centered health care for hospital inpatients and consumers of community health services, providing a governance process to evaluate the quality of care and to action improvement. Experience of care has been described as effective communication, respect and dignity, and emotional support. Measurement criteria for these domains are not standardized, leading to inconsistent reporting of patient experience. The objective of this scoping review was to synthesize evidence for measuring experience of care in children’s community health services using the Joanna Briggs Institute framework for scoping review method. Three parent-reported surveys met the inclusion criteria, and 50 survey items were assessed by expert reviewers for fit to domains of healthcare experience. Conceptual domains of parent experience in children’s community health services included respect and dignity, effective communication, and emotional support. A gap was identified, in that few items in identified surveys measured emotional support. This contribution will promote consistent reporting of healthcare experience, informing policy and practice for person-centered health care.


1971 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 545
Author(s):  
ROSELLA. CUNNINGHAM

1970 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 546
Author(s):  
Hodgman ◽  
Callahan Eileen

BMJ ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 344 (apr05 4) ◽  
pp. e2605-e2605
Author(s):  
A. O'Dowd

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