New publication: What is needed to support the translation of research into rural health practice?

Translating research into practice is critical to improving healthcare delivery in rural and regional settings however, it does not happen organically. There is increasing recognition of the need to build the capacity and capability of individuals and health services to translate research into practice.

A new publication in Rural and Remote Health by STaRR researchers describes a study exploring rural and regional health research stakeholders’ perspectives on the capability-building needs of emerging researchers to enable the translation of research into health practice.

Emerging researchers (n=12), health managers (n=4), and research mentors (n=3) participated in a focus group interview. We identified four themes:

• Understanding the study and translation context is vital to enacting change
• Engaging with stakeholders identifies research and translation priorities and suitable approaches
• Mentor and managerial support assists navigation of research translation activities
• Access to clinical and research networks promotes research translation partnerships and collaborations.

These findings highlight the need for a region-wide approach to building research translation capability. Emerging researchers need to develop multiple types of research translation skills through different approaches and levels of influence. They need support and guidance to ensure their endeavours align with and leverage organisational and regional priorities for research translation.

King OA, Sayner A, Beauchamp A, Hitch D, Aras D, Wong Shee A.  Translating research into rural health practice: a qualitative study of perceived capability-building needs. Rural and Remote Health 2023; 23: 7751. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH7751