Doing research with those who use it - On Health

Doing research with those who use it - On Health

Ian D Graham, Anita Kothari, Chris McCutcheon & Gayle Scarrow

Ian D Graham is the Director of the Integrated Knowledge Translation Research Network (IKTRN), Senior Scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and Professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Community Medicine of the University of Ottawa.

Anita Kothari, Deputy Director of the IKTRN, is an Associate Professor in the School of Health Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

Chris McCutcheon is a knowledge translation expert who specializes in IKT and health services and policy research. He is currently the manager of the Integrated Knowledge Translation Research Network at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute.

Gayle Scarrow is the Director, Knowledge Translation at the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) in British Columbia.

Doing research with those who use it

Research co-production – sometimes referred to by such terms as participatory research, engaged scholarship, collaborative research, and integrated knowledge translation – is about conducting research with those who would use it. A new BMC cross-journal collection considers some of the key issues currently facing the science and practice of research partnerships and identifies elements of a research agenda for research co-production. Here, the organizers share an overview of this special collection.

Ian D Graham, Anita Kothari, Chris McCutcheon & Gayle Scarrow 25 Nov 2019

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We are excited to release our special collection of concept papers exploring the history, boundaries, and future of research co-production – what we in Canada call integrated knowledge translation (IKT). It is well known that the application of research findings in health care and policy is less than optimal. Up to 50% of patients do not receive treatments proven to be effective and as many as 25% receive care known to be ineffective and even harmful. Co-production holds enormous promise as an approach that increases the relevance and potential impact of research evidence. Research co-production is a relatively new and developing health research approach, and we are still grappling with its full implications. Our series attempts to pose the questions that need to be answered to grow the field and realize its promise.