Bridging the research-practice gap

Health service redesign researchers from the National Institute for Health Research Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care for Birmingham and the Black Country (NIHR CLAHRC BBC) investigated the process of large scale service redesign. In order to engage clinical staff and service users in the study, and to ensure findings were disseminated as widely as possible, the team included professional communicators who helped to connect researchers and key stakeholders. The NHS ‘communications fellows’ provided expertise in professional communication approaches and links to a wider network of communications professionals. The use of a range of communications industry techniques was vital in establishing effective communication channels to share interim and final research findings. The benefits of using a selection of key techniques is examined and recommendations are made that could help other researchers capitalise on professional communication approaches to help ensure the impact of their work is fully realised. While the need for authoritative academic papers and reports is acknowledged, it is concluded that harnessing the huge potential of new communication technologies, and traditional journalistic instincts, may be the missing link in knowledge transfer.