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Academic health science centres as vehicles for knowledge mobilisation in Australia? A qualitative study
Edelman, Alexandra Clay-Williams, Robyn Fischer, Michael Kislov, Roman Kitson, Alison McLoughlin, Ian Skouteris, Helen Harvey, Gill
Edelman, Alexandra
Clay-Williams, Robyn
Fischer, Michael
Kislov, Roman
Kitson, Alison
McLoughlin, Ian
Skouteris, Helen
Harvey, Gill
Abstract
Background
Despite increasing investments in academic health science centres (AHSCs) in Australia and an expectation that they will serve as vehicles for knowledge translation and exchange, there is limited empirical evidence on whether and how they deliver impact. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the early development of four Australian AHSCs to explore how they are enacting their impact-focused role.
Methods
A descriptive qualitative methodology was employed across four AHSCs located in diverse health system settings in urban and regional locations across Australia. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 15 academic, industry and executive board members of participating AHSCs. The analysis combined inductive and deductive elements, with inductive categories mapped to deductive themes corresponding to the study aims.
Results
AHSCs in Australia are in an emergent state of development and are following different pathways. Whilst varied approaches to support research translation are apparent, there is a dominant focus on structure and governance, as opposed to action-oriented roles and processes to deliver strategic goals. Balancing collaboration and competition between partners presents a challenge, as does identifying appropriate ways to evaluate impact.
Conclusion
The early stage of development of AHSCs in Australia presents an important opportunity for formative learning and evaluation to optimise their enactment of knowledge mobilisation processes for impact.
Keywords
academic health centre, knowledge mobilisation, research translation, research impact, Australia
Date
2022
Type
Journal article
Journal
International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Book
Volume
11
Issue
6
Page Range
840-846
Article Number
ACU Department
Peter Faber Business School
Faculty of Law and Business
Faculty of Law and Business
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY 4.0
File Access
Open
Notes
© 2022 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.