Interdisciplinary health research: perspectives from a process evaluation research team

Clarke, David BSc Cert Ed MSc PhD
Hawkins, Rebecca BA (Hons) PhD
Sadler, Euan BSc (Hons) MSc MA PhD
Harding, Geoffrey PhD
Forster, Anne BA (Hons) PhD
McKevitt, Christopher BA (Hons) PhD
Godfrey, Mary B Soc Sci M Soc Sci
Monaghan, Josie BSc PhD
Farrin, Amanda BSc

Senior Research Fellow/Lecturer, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Leeds, UK
Research Fellow, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, UK
Stroke Association Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Primary Care and Public Health Sciences, King’s College London, UK
Hon. Senior Research Fellow, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry, Exeter, UK
Professor of Stroke Rehabilitation and Clinical Lead, Yorkshire Stroke Research Network, UK
Reader in Social Science and Health, Department of Primary Care and Public Health Sciences, King’s College London, UK
Reader in Health and Social Care, Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, UK
Clinical Trials Manager, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Leeds, UK
Principal Statistician, Director Health Sciences Division, Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds, UK

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

AF, CM, JM, DJC and MG designed the process evaluation study. DJC, RH, ES and GH collected and analysed the data. DJC developed the manuscript. AF, MG, CM, RH, ES and GH reviewed the manuscript and made recommendations for changes and additions.

FUNDING

The Process Evaluation study referred to in this paper was funded by an NIHR Research for Patient Benefit Grant (PB-PG-0407–13308).

ETHICAL APPROVAL

The study referred to in the paper was approved by the Leeds (West) Research Ethics Committee.

PEER REVIEW

Commissioned, not externally peer reviewed.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

None.

ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE

Dr David J Clarke, Academic Unit of Elderly Care and Rehabilitation, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Temple Bank House, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Duckworth Lane, Bradford BD9 6RJ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1274 383441; email: [email protected]

Received 09 January 2012

Accepted 26 February 2012

Quality in Primary Care 20(3):p 179-189, 2012.

Background

Interdisciplinary health research (IDHR) is increasingly encouraged and is often a specific requirement for research grants provided by health research funding councils worldwide. There is consensus that research expertise and scholarship from a diverse range of disciplines are necessary to examine questions relating to complex health and social concerns for which single disciplinary approaches have been found inadequate.

Methods

This paper reports on the experiences of an interdisciplinary process evaluation research team working in the field of stroke care.

Results

Realising the perceived benefits is less than straightforward; setting up and conducting IDHR can present researchers with a range of challenges at a strategic, practical and individual level. We identify how differences in disciplinary perspectives and skills impacted on our research practice.

Conclusions

Whilst initially challenging, our different approaches to the research problem and the methods to address it, expanded conceptual and methodological understanding and proved of benefit for the research team and the study outputs.