Collaborative research between clinicians and researchers: a multiple case study of implementation

TLDR

Clinician‑led clinical intervention research, supported by researcher collaboration, is endorsed by the participatory research movement. The study evaluated four clinician‑driven projects across four sites using surveys, archival data, focus groups, and a six‑dimensional model to assess proposal integrity, methodological rigor, partnership collaboration, and sustained clinical impact. The evaluation revealed mixed results: clinician collaboration was achieved, prior research experience proved essential, common challenges such as recruitment, administrative support, and logistics impeded progress, only one intervention had lasting impact, and overall sustainability was limited by resource and administrative constraints.

Abstract

Bottom-up, clinician-conceived and directed clinical intervention research, coupled with collaboration from researcher experts, is conceptually endorsed by the participatory research movement. This report presents the findings of an evaluation of a program in the Veterans Health Administration meant to encourage clinician-driven research by providing resources believed to be critical. The evaluation focused on the extent to which funded projects: maintained integrity to their original proposals; were methodologically rigorous; were characterized by collaboration between partners; and resulted in sustained clinical impact.Researchers used quantitative (survey and archival) and qualitative (focus group) data to evaluate the implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of four clinical demonstration projects at four sites. Fourteen research center mentors and seventeen clinician researchers evaluated the level of collaboration using a six-dimensional model of participatory research.Results yielded mixed findings. Qualitative and quantitative data suggested that although the process was collaborative, clinicians' prior research experience was critical to the quality of the projects. Several challenges were common across sites, including subject recruitment, administrative support and logistics, and subsequent dissemination. Only one intervention achieved lasting clinical effect beyond the active project period. Qualitative analyses identified barriers and facilitators and suggested areas to improve sustainability.Evaluation results suggest that this participatory research venture was successful in achieving clinician-directed collaboration, but did not produce sustainable interventions due to such implementation problems as lack of resources and administrative support.