Fostering international collaboration in implementation science and research: a concept mapping exploratory study

Abstract

ObjectiveInternational collaboration in science has received increasing attention given emphases on relevance, generalizability, and impact of research. Implementation science (IS) is a growing discipline that aims to translate clinical research findings into health services. Research is needed to identify efficient and effective ways to foster international collaboration in IS. Concept-mapping (CM) was utilized with a targeted sample for preliminary exploration of fostering international collaboration. Concept-mapping is a mixed-method approach (qualitative/quantitative) particularly suited for identifying essential themes and action items to facilitate planning among diverse stakeholders. We sought to identify key factors likely to facilitate productive and rewarding international collaborations in implementation research.ResultsWe identified eleven dimensions: Strategic Planning; Practicality; Define Common Principles; Technological Tools for Collaboration; Funding; Disseminate Importance of Fostering International Collaboration in IS; Knowledge Sharing; Innovative & Adaptive Research; Training IS Researchers; Networking & Shared Identity; Facilitate Meetings. Strategic Planning and Funding were highest rated for importance and Strategic Planning and Networking and Shared Identity were rated most feasible to institute. Fostering international collaboration in IS can accelerate the efficiency, relevance, and generalizability of implementation research. Strategies should be developed and tested to improve international collaborations and engage junior and experienced investigators in collaborations advancing implementation science and practice.

International scientific collaborative activities and barriers to them in eight societies

“…These results are similar to a 2018 survey of scientists on international mobility, which determined that many scientists did not face travel obstacles when relocating for work (McInroy et al 2018). The most common barrier across all countries and regions surveyed was funding, consistent with previous research (Aarons et al 2019;Hoekman et al 2012;Noonan et al 2018;See 2018;Wagner 2006).…”

“…Other scholars have also noted funding as well as other cultural and political barriers to international collaborations (Aarons et al 2019;Hoekman et al 2012;See 2018;Widmer, Widmer, and Lerman 2015). A 2017 workshop and survey of clinical researchers found that the majority of respondents described funding, time, academic differences (culture and calendars, for instance), and research capacities as barriers to international collaborations (Noonan et al 2018).…”

Leveraging implementation science to reduce inequities in Children’s mental health care: highlights from a multidisciplinary international colloquium

“…This conference provided an unparalleled opportunity for synergistic work across countries to tackle challenges in implementing evidence-based mental health treatments for the most vulnerable children. The structure and process of this retreat and the survey findings are consistent with recent work that provides recommendations for fostering international collaboration in implementation science and research [72]. A future direction, among the colloquium participants and for the broader research and practice communities, is to identify cross -country and discipline collaborative opportunities to integrate implementation science methods as a vehicle of accelerating the transport of research or practice-based evidence into routine care service contexts.…”

Using Implementation Science For Health Adaptation: Opportunities For Pacific Island Countries

“…33 An implementation science approach could be used to better understand implementation bottlenecks and scale up MalaClim, using methods such as concept mapping to collect data on collaboration opportunities and feasibility, to identify contexts in which the program is likely to be more or less successful, and to test hypotheses for what drives the success and failure of implementation in new settings. 34 Further, impact evaluations, quality improvement methods, and dissemination studies are implementation science tools that can help identify bottlenecks within a system, raise interest in local populations, and generate concrete recom-mendations to improve intervention uptake and success. The Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance (RE-AIM) model is an implementation framework used to evaluate population health impacts of promotion interventions.…”