College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, Australia.
Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Int J Health Policy Manag. 2022 Jun 1;11(6):840-846. doi: 10.34172/ijhpm.2020.247.
Despite increasing investments in academic health science centres (AHSCs) in Australia and an expectation that they will serve as vehicles for knowledge translation and exchange, there is limited empirical evidence on whether and how they deliver impact. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the early development of four Australian AHSCs to explore how they are enacting their impact-focused role.
A descriptive qualitative methodology was employed across four AHSCs located in diverse health system settings in urban and regional locations across Australia. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 15 academic, industry and executive board members of participating AHSCs. The analysis combined inductive and deductive elements, with inductive categories mapped to deductive themes corresponding to the study aims.
AHSCs in Australia are in an emergent state of development and are following different pathways. Whilst varied approaches to support research translation are apparent, there is a dominant focus on structure and governance, as opposed to action-oriented roles and processes to deliver strategic goals. Balancing collaboration and competition between partners presents a challenge, as does identifying appropriate ways to evaluate impact.
The early stage of development of AHSCs in Australia presents an important opportunity for formative learning and evaluation to optimise their enactment of knowledge mobilisation processes for impact.
尽管澳大利亚在学术健康科学中心（AHSCs）方面的投资不断增加，并且期望它们能够成为知识转化和交流的载体，但关于它们是否以及如何产生影响的实证证据有限。本研究旨在考察和比较四个澳大利亚 AHSCs 的早期发展，以探讨它们如何发挥其以影响为重点的作用。
采用描述性定性方法，对位于澳大利亚城市和地区不同卫生系统环境中的四个 AHSCs 进行研究。通过对参与 AHSCs 的 15 名学术、行业和执行委员会成员进行半结构化访谈收集数据。分析结合了归纳和演绎元素，将归纳类别映射到与研究目的相对应的演绎主题。
澳大利亚的 AHSCs 处于新兴的发展阶段，并且正在遵循不同的发展路径。尽管支持研究转化的方法多种多样，但主要关注的是结构和治理，而不是实现战略目标的面向行动的角色和流程。在合作伙伴之间平衡合作和竞争存在挑战，确定评估影响的适当方法也是如此。
澳大利亚 AHSCs 的早期发展为形成性学习和评估提供了重要机会，以优化其实施知识动员过程以产生影响。
