Tong Wen Ting, Ooi Chor Yau, Lim Yee En
Department of Primary Care Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 26;20(6):e0325372. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325372. eCollection 2025.
Implementation science (IS) has importance in Asia to facilitate effective delivery of evidence-based interventions to bridge disease prevention and management gaps. However, IS research conducted in Asia are slower compared to the Western region.
This study aims to assess barriers to conducting IS research in Asia.
This study adopted a cross-sectional online survey design. Researchers who had conducted IS research in Asian settings completed a questionnaire which examined socio-demographic characteristics, IS research practices, and yes or no items on the various barriers to conducting IS research. An open-ended question was provided to gather additional barriers.
The response rate for this study was 40.1% (113/282). More than half of the participants has PhD level education (68.1%, n = 77), and 46.0% (n = 52) were academic lecturers. The most common barrier to conducting IS research was the lack of funding (86.7%, n = 98) followed by the lack of awareness (59.5%, n = 67), the lack of time (56.6%, n = 64), and the lack of organisational support (48.7%, n = 55). The open-ended responses elicited additional barriers: the lack of commitment and involvement from stakeholders other than researchers, perceived low value of IS research, the lack of scientific rigour as a field, existing knowledge, system and practices challenge, the lack of capacity or training support, and the lack of academic progression indicators.
To facilitate the increase of IS research in Asia, more support are needed in terms of availability of funding, capacity building and training in the region, and effective ways to build constructive long-term collaborations with stakeholders.
实施科学（IS）在亚洲对于促进循证干预措施的有效实施以弥合疾病预防与管理差距具有重要意义。然而，与西部地区相比，在亚洲开展的实施科学研究进展较为缓慢。
本研究旨在评估在亚洲开展实施科学研究的障碍。
本研究采用横断面在线调查设计。在亚洲地区开展过实施科学研究的研究人员完成了一份问卷，该问卷调查了社会人口学特征、实施科学研究实践，以及关于开展实施科学研究的各种障碍的是或否项目。还设置了一个开放式问题以收集其他障碍。
本研究的回复率为40.1%（113/282）。超过一半的参与者拥有博士学历（68.1%，n = 77），46.0%（n = 52）为学术讲师。开展实施科学研究最常见的障碍是缺乏资金（86.7%，n = 98），其次是缺乏认识（59.5%，n = 67）、缺乏时间（56.6%，n = 64）以及缺乏组织支持（48.7%，n = 55）。开放式回答引出了其他障碍：研究人员以外的利益相关者缺乏承诺和参与、实施科学研究的价值被认为较低、作为一个领域缺乏科学严谨性、现有知识、系统和实践方面的挑战、缺乏能力或培训支持，以及缺乏学术进步指标。
为促进亚洲实施科学研究的增加，在资金可用性、该地区的能力建设和培训，以及与利益相关者建立建设性长期合作的有效方式方面需要更多支持。
