Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Studies from the past three decades have found evidence of wide variation in public health practices and policies across states and communities despite an expanding evidence base of efficacious public health strategies, suggesting gaps in implementation and translation processes. Practice-based research networks (PBRNs) are expected to accelerate research participation and translation. This study uses social network analysis methods with twelve Public Health PBRNs to study processes influencing the implementation and translation of research within diverse public health settings.

DATA and METHODS: A cross-sectional network analysis survey was validated and fielded with participants in two cohorts of public health PBRNs approximately one year after network formation: five PBRNs during Spring and Summer 2010; and seven PBRNs during Fall and Winter 2011. A total of 347 organizational participants were represented in the twelve networks, including public health agencies, universities, and community-based organizations. Standard measures of network structure and flow were constructed for each PBRN using information about the types and frequencies of interaction reported by network participants. Hierarchical ordered logistic regression models were used to estimate how organizational attributes and network structures influence the experiences of PBRN participants with research participation and patterns of interaction.

FINDINGS: The density and centrality of research networks varied widely across the twelve PH-PBRN networks. Local public health agencies and community-based organizations were significantly more likely than state agencies and academic institutions to be located in the periphery of these networks (p<0.05) and to exhibit relatively low levels of network embeddedness. Nevertheless, participants in the periphery of their networks reported significantly larger benefits from research participation than did more central participants (p<0.05), particularly regarding their ability to steer research projects to practice-relevant questions and to identify innovations in practice worthy of study and dissemination. Peripheral network members were also more likely to report engagement in activities to apply research findings internally and to assist others with research translation (p<0.05).

IMPLICATIONS: PBRN networks can serve as effective mechanisms for facilitating implementation and translation of research findings, particularly when practice agencies locate peripherally within networks to serve as boundary interfaces with non-participating practice settings. Due to their peripheral location in research networks, practice agencies may require targeted resources and incentives to sustain their engagement in research implementation and translation activities over time.

Document Type

Presentation

Publication Date

4-18-2012

Notes/Citation Information

A presentation at the Keeneland Conference on Public Health Services & Systems Research in Lexington, KY.

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