Broadening measures of success: results of a behavioral health translational research training program

Abstract

BackgroundWhile some research training programs have considered the importance of mentoring in inspiring professionals to engage in translational research, most evaluations emphasize outcomes specific to academic productivity as primary measures of training program success. The impact of such training or mentoring programs on stakeholders and local community organizations engaged in translational research efforts has received little attention. The purpose of this evaluation is to explore outcomes other than traditional academic productivity in a translational research graduate certificate program designed to pair graduate students and behavioral health professionals in collaborative service-learning projects.MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews with scholars, community mentors, and academic mentors were conducted regarding a translational research program to identify programmatic impacts. Interviews were transcribed and coded by the research team to identify salient themes related to programmatic outcomes.ResultsResults are framed using the Translational Research Impact Scale which is organized into three overarching domains of potential impact: (1) research-related impacts, (2) translational impacts, and (3) societal impacts. This evaluation demonstrates the program’s impact in all three domains of the TRIS evaluation framework. Graduate certificate participants (scholars) reported that gaining experience in applied behavioral health settings added useful skills and expertise to their present careers and increased their interest in pursuing translational research. Scholars also described benefits resulting from networks gained through participation in the program, including valuable ties between the university and community behavioral health organizations.ConclusionsThis evaluation of the outcomes of a graduate certificate program providing training in translational research highlights the need for more community-oriented and practice-based measures of success. Encouraging practitioner involvement in translational research is vital to translate knowledge into practice and to enable practice-based needs to inform research and policy. A more flexible approach to measuring programmatic success in research training programs can help bridge the knowledge translation gap.

Evaluating an Implementation Science Training Program: Impact on Professional Research and Practice

“…Current literature shows a lack of evidence on effective strategies for measuring the outcomes of programs linking education and applied practice (Moore et al, 2018;Sabo et al, 2015). For example, Baldwin et al (2017) suggest evaluations of mentoring programs may be limited in their indicators for measuring programmatic success as many appear to emphasize academic productivity as the primary measure of success. There also seems to be a lack of research addressing best practices to evaluate the mentorship experience and the complexities of the university-community partnerships within service-learning opportunities (Williamson et al, 2016).…”

“…However, a large gap still exists between research and practice, and this may be associated with a lack of attention to and comprehension of the implementation process of EBPs (Proctor et al, 2009). Therefore, it is important for researchers and practitioners in behavioral healthcare to possess competent knowledge and skills rooted in implementation science and practice (e.g., knowledge translation) as the means for closing the research to practice gap (Baldwin et al, 2017). The current study aims to examine the impact of a structured, integrated model designed to enhance professional development among interdisciplinary graduate students and practitioners in implementation science research and practice.…”

The Concept of Translational Research and School Nursing

“…'nın (2017) yaptığı diğer örnek araştırmada, sağlık eğitiminde farklı disiplinlerle çalışarak translasyonel araştırma sonuçlarının kullanımının öğrencilerde davranış değişikliği gerçekleştirdiği, okul ile toplum arasındaki bağı güçlendirdiği, bilginin uygulamaya dönüştürülmesini kolaylaştırdığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Araştırma translasyonel araştırma modelinin T3 aşaması ile uyumludur (35).…”

Developing population health scientists: Findings from an evaluation of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars Program

“…More recent studies include several evaluating the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Prevention Fellowship Program (Faupel-Badger et al, 2015, Faupel-Badger et al, 2017), including one study with a strong comparison group and methods (Faupel-Badger et al, 2015). A few recent studies evaluate the outcomes of other public health training programs but lack comparison groups (Sobelson et al, 2017, Baldwin et al, 2017, Mancuso et al, 2017).…”