Theme 4: Impact of research within health and care

This theme is coordinated by Taran Thune from the TIK Centre.

In the health and care context, there are high expectations that health policy decisions and clinical practices should be based on documented effects and the best available science. In most countries, a large proportion of R&D budgets are allocated to the health and care area, with the specific assumption that these investments will lead to better patient care, more efficient use of public resources and improved clinical outcomes. Due to the large size of the health research system and its clear expectations of research to have demonstrated benefits for the health and care system, systems for supporting impact processes within medical and health research have been developed. Medical and health research is reviewed and assessed in a systematic manner as a basis for policy making (evidence-based medicine) and there is a close relationship between development and quality assurance of clinical practices and clinical or applied medical research that often takes place in the hospitals.

However, during the last three decades a basic science program have been developed, that aims to understand the functioning of the human body at cellular and gene level. Although the new knowledge is considered to have wide applicability in medicine, increasing awareness of the time and resources necessary to translate new scientific insights into new medical applications, has led to an increased attention to translational research and mechanisms of knowledge translation and knowledge use. Basic and translational research in medicine also have significant commercial outputs, and tracing the interrelatedness of commercial, policy and clinical pathways is a key goal in this work package.

OSIRIS will have a separate theme that will study mechanisms and pathways of knowledge translation in the medical and care context. We will perform several related studies

  • A systematic literature review of impact pathways in care and medicine (2017)
  • A survey of research translation pathways and research uptake among medical and care professionals and policy makers (pilot-phase in 2018, followed by full-scale implementation in 2019-2020)
  • Longitudinal case studies of research to impact pathways in selected areas of medicine and care (start in 2017 and ongoing six years)

This theme is carried out by researchers at the TIK Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture and INGENIO, in partnership with users in the medical and health sector, such as the Oslo University Hospital, the Health region South-East and the Norwegian Welfare directorate (NAV).

Published May 13, 2017 11:39 AM - Last modified Nov. 18, 2021 9:49 AM