If health organisations and staff engage in research, does healthcare improve? Strengthening the evidence base through systematic reviews

There is an often-held assumption that the engagement of clinicians and healthcare organizations in research improves healthcare performance at various levels. The review strengthens the evidence base with 86 of 95 papers reporting positive results.

Key messages:

• Research engagement by healthcare organisations and staff is likely to positively impact patient outcomes and processes of care
• Supportive context - Research networks and other forms of collaboration are highlighted as playing an important role
• Extent of research engagement - higher levels of participation lead to better outcomes
• Spreading the benefits - health equity is improved by encouraging wider participation through targeted outreach

This work was done by Annette Boaz with colleagues Steve Hanney and Bryony Soper at Brunel University and Belinda Goodenough (previously of SAX Institute). The systematic review covered the period January 2012 to March 2024, considering research in any healthcare setting or country and focussed on English language publications.

The paper is published in Health Research Policy and Systems volume 22, Article number: 113 (2024)