404 If You Build It, Will They Come? Navigating Research Resources at CTSA Hubs

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: CTSA Program hubs provide a wide range of research support services (funding, training, consultations, etc.) to individuals and teams. The CTSA Program hub at Columbia University seeks to identify best practices across CTSA hubs in how they facilitate researchers to identify, navigate, and access services at complex academic medical centers. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: o A landscape analysis across CTSA Program hub websites was conducted during December 2021-February 2022, with the goal of assessing the availability of research navigation services and the ease of accessing and requesting research support services at each hub. Websites of 66 CTSA hubs were accessed and browsed for the following: 1) if a research navigation or concierge service was available; 2) how to request and apply to use common services such as pilot funding, biostatistics, clinical research services; 3) if there was a contact form and/or email address for general inquiries. Binary coding (1=Yes, 2=No) was used to track and summarize if these features were available, and then further classification and observations were noted into the full data set. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: The landscape analysis determined that 68% of CTSA hubs offer a form of research navigation including consultative models (personalized guidance, studios) and web-based models (self-service web portals, graphics, toolkits). Consultative models could be classified into three levels of support ranging from general information sharing to providing scientific expertise to convening more intensive studio sessions. 92% of CTSA hubs have at least 1 system in place for researchers to request services with a majority of hubs using a mix of tools and systems. In addition, 36% of hubs have additional general contact forms and 75% have general email addresses to assist researchers in obtaining more information. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: There is a relative lack of data and information on the effectiveness of different research navigation models across the CTSA network, and barriers for researchers to identify services remain (Elworth et al). Our team is planning additional evaluations including interviews with leaders at other CTSA hubs and researchers and trainees at Columbia.