Developing a framework to guide the evaluation of training in research skills for health and care professionals

Sabey, Abigail; Biddle, Michele; Bray, Isabelle

Abstract

Background: Delivering research skills training to health professionals through short, applied sessions outside a formal higher education program, can help fill gaps in training and build research capacity in clinical settings. This has been the endeavor of some of the Applied Research Collaborations funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research in England since 2014. How to evaluate this type of training in terms of the wider impact it may have, has not featured heavily in the literature and methods have largely borrowed from more generic approaches to training evaluation which can over-simplify outcomes and ignore longer-term impacts. Methods: We developed the framework in four stages: mapping potential impacts of our research skills training courses to identify key concepts; shaping into three domains in which impact could be expected, informed by established definitions of research capacity building; testing the initial framework and adapting wording of impacts; refining the framework into a practical tool. Results: The final framework specifies types of impact in three domains of influence - individual, group/organization and health system, and maps these against key questions to guide inquiry, as well as suggested methods for capturing the impact and expected timeframe for each type of impact. Discussion: The framework provides a structure for guiding the evaluation of research training as well as a focus on medium-longer term impacts, encouraging a broader and continuous approach to evaluation. It is hoped this will support educators in other contexts and fields, in the planning of a wider range of training evaluation activities, to capture impact more fully.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 25, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 28, 2023
• Publication Date: Aug 31, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jan 11, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 12, 2024
• Journal: Education for Health: Change in Learning and Practice
• Print ISSN: 1357-6283
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-5804
• Publisher: Medknow Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 83-87
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/efh.efh_289_22
• Keywords: Academic training, capacity building, evaluation methodology
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11493204