Building a collaborative translational research platform: barriers and enablers from basic research to primary health care

Context: Translational research focuses on bridging the gaps in the research continuum, from basic research to health care practice. The capacity to translate basic research discoveries to clinical application and to synthesize, disseminate, and integrate clinical research results into health care decision-making and clinical practice remain challenging. The implementation of an easily accessible tool promoting collaboration between actors across the research continuum is essential to help fill these gaps.

Objective: To identify barriers and enablers to create and implement an innovative, effective, and sustainable collaborative translational research platform that will bring together the actors of the research continuum.

Study Design and Analysis: The study used a qualitative descriptive design and a deductive thematic analysis.

Setting or Dataset: Data were collected through three focus groups conducted virtually and recorded. The discussions were transcribed verbatim, and transcripts were analyzed using NVivo. Initial codes were generated and then associated to themes relevant to barriers and enablers to implement a collaborative platform.

Population Studied: Actors from each pillar of the research continuum in the field of chronic diseases: basic researchers (Group 1), clinician-researchers (Group 2), and specialist doctors, family doctors, nurses, and patients (Group 3).

Intervention/Instrument: N/A

Outcome Measures: N/A

Results: Results highlight four categories of barriers and enablers: 1) project concretization, 2) basic research applicability, 3) clinician availability and commitment, and 4) patient involvement and recruitment. The identified barriers and enablers emphasize the social responsibility of research and the necessity for a genuine and transparent dialogue with the public to communicate science effectively and drive innovation, as well as the need for a more intensive outreach and early exposure of clinicians to research in their academic training. The main success indicators of such a collaborative platform are the relevance, strength, and duration of collaborations, the number of projects implemented and completed, and the grants and funding obtained.

Conclusion: While participants in this study are keen to collaborate, many are wondering how to collaborate in a concrete and effective way. This desire to collaborate combined with the absence of a tool to foster efficient collaborations are indicators of the importance of our approach.