Ostergren Jenny E, Hammer Rachel R, Dingel Molly J, Koenig Barbara A, McCormick Jennifer B
Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America.
Biomedical Ethics Research Unit and Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2014 Apr 4;9(4):e93482. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093482. eCollection 2014.
To explore scientists' perspectives on the challenges and pressures of translating research findings into clinical practice and public health policy.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 leading scientists engaged in genetic research on addiction. We asked participants for their views on how their own research translates, how genetic research addresses addiction as a public health problem and how it may affect the public's view of addiction.
Most scientists described a direct translational route for their research, positing that their research will have significant societal benefits, leading to advances in treatment and novel prevention strategies. However, scientists also pointed to the inherent pressures they feel to quickly translate their research findings into actual clinical or public health use. They stressed the importance of allowing the scientific process to play out, voicing ambivalence about the recent push to speed translation.
High expectations have been raised that biomedical science will lead to new prevention and treatment modalities, exerting pressure on scientists. Our data suggest that scientists feel caught in the push for immediate applications. This overemphasis on rapid translation can lead to technologies and applications being rushed into use without critical evaluation of ethical, policy, and social implications, and without balancing their value compared to public health policies and interventions currently in place.
探讨科学家对于将研究成果转化为临床实践和公共卫生政策所面临的挑战与压力的看法。
我们对20位从事成瘾基因研究的顶尖科学家进行了有目的抽样的半结构化访谈。我们询问参与者对于他们自己的研究如何转化、基因研究如何将成瘾作为一个公共卫生问题加以解决以及这可能如何影响公众对成瘾的看法的观点。
大多数科学家描述了他们研究的直接转化途径，认为他们的研究将带来重大的社会效益，推动治疗进展和产生新的预防策略。然而，科学家们也指出了他们感到的将研究成果迅速转化为实际临床或公共卫生用途的内在压力。他们强调了让科学过程自然发展的重要性，对最近加快转化的推动表达了矛盾态度。
人们对生物医学科学将带来新的预防和治疗方式寄予了很高期望，这给科学家带来了压力。我们的数据表明，科学家们感到在推动立即应用的过程中陷入了困境。这种对快速转化的过度强调可能导致技术和应用在没有对伦理、政策和社会影响进行批判性评估的情况下就仓促投入使用，并且在没有将其价值与当前的公共卫生政策和干预措施进行权衡的情况下就贸然应用。
