Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey
Objectives To establish barriers and motivators underlying research engagement among early-career practitioners in nephrology across the UK, in order to guide potential interventions to enhance research involvement in renal units.Design Cross-sectional online survey employing a range of free-text, L...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2022-12-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e066212.full |
| _version_ | 1797980740741234688 |
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| author | Hannah Beckwith Michael Nation Aisling McMahon David C Wheeler Matthew J Bottomley Neil S Sheerin Jeremy Hughes Sharlene Greenwood |
| author_facet | Hannah Beckwith Michael Nation Aisling McMahon David C Wheeler Matthew J Bottomley Neil S Sheerin Jeremy Hughes Sharlene Greenwood |
| author_sort | Hannah Beckwith |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives To establish barriers and motivators underlying research engagement among early-career practitioners in nephrology across the UK, in order to guide potential interventions to enhance research involvement in renal units.Design Cross-sectional online survey employing a range of free-text, Likert scale and binomial/multiple-choice responses, distributed via mailing lists and social media. Topics covered research experience, research involvement and barriers, impact of COVID-19 and strategies to improve research engagement. Thematic analysis was used to assess free-text responses.Setting Renal units throughout the UK.Participants Non-consultant healthcare staff self-identifying as working in nephrology were included (n=211), with responses from non-UK respondents or consultant nephrologists excluded (n=12).Results Responses were received from across the multidisciplinary team (physicians (n=83) and nurses (n=83)) and other allied health professionals (n=45). Most were aware of ongoing local research, but under half of them were actively involved. Multivariate analysis indicated employment as a physician, protected time for research activity and provision of appropriate training were associated with greater research experience and output. There was general enthusiasm to undertake research, but perceived barriers included insufficient staffing, lack of time, funding and encouragement. COVID-19 was felt to have further impacted negatively upon opportunities. Among the suggested strategies to promote engagement, mentorship and an online research resource were felt to be of most interest.Conclusions In the first survey of this type in nephrology, we demonstrate differences across the multidisciplinary spectrum in perceived research experience and accessibility, which have been worsened by COVID-19. Our findings will guide strategies to broaden engagement in early-career practitioners and serve as a baseline to assess the impact of these interventions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:58:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-644000dbb14d42f4af9f76bad3e38632 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:58:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-644000dbb14d42f4af9f76bad3e386322022-12-22T04:41:48ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552022-12-01121210.1136/bmjopen-2022-066212Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary surveyHannah Beckwith0Michael Nation1Aisling McMahon2David C Wheeler3Matthew J Bottomley4Neil S Sheerin5Jeremy Hughes6Sharlene Greenwood7Institute of Clinical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UKKidney Research UK, Peterborough, Peterborough, UKDepartment of Law, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland13 Centre for Nephrology, University College London, London, UKDivision of Cardiovascular and Diabetes Research, Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM), The University of Leeds, Leeds, UKUK Kidney Research Consortium, London, UKCentre for Inflammation Research, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKUK Kidney Research Consortium, London, UKObjectives To establish barriers and motivators underlying research engagement among early-career practitioners in nephrology across the UK, in order to guide potential interventions to enhance research involvement in renal units.Design Cross-sectional online survey employing a range of free-text, Likert scale and binomial/multiple-choice responses, distributed via mailing lists and social media. Topics covered research experience, research involvement and barriers, impact of COVID-19 and strategies to improve research engagement. Thematic analysis was used to assess free-text responses.Setting Renal units throughout the UK.Participants Non-consultant healthcare staff self-identifying as working in nephrology were included (n=211), with responses from non-UK respondents or consultant nephrologists excluded (n=12).Results Responses were received from across the multidisciplinary team (physicians (n=83) and nurses (n=83)) and other allied health professionals (n=45). Most were aware of ongoing local research, but under half of them were actively involved. Multivariate analysis indicated employment as a physician, protected time for research activity and provision of appropriate training were associated with greater research experience and output. There was general enthusiasm to undertake research, but perceived barriers included insufficient staffing, lack of time, funding and encouragement. COVID-19 was felt to have further impacted negatively upon opportunities. Among the suggested strategies to promote engagement, mentorship and an online research resource were felt to be of most interest.Conclusions In the first survey of this type in nephrology, we demonstrate differences across the multidisciplinary spectrum in perceived research experience and accessibility, which have been worsened by COVID-19. Our findings will guide strategies to broaden engagement in early-career practitioners and serve as a baseline to assess the impact of these interventions.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e066212.full |
| spellingShingle | Hannah Beckwith Michael Nation Aisling McMahon David C Wheeler Matthew J Bottomley Neil S Sheerin Jeremy Hughes Sharlene Greenwood Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey BMJ Open |
| title | Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey |
| title_full | Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey |
| title_fullStr | Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey |
| title_short | Research engagement by British early-career practitioners in nephrology: a multidisciplinary survey |
| title_sort | research engagement by british early career practitioners in nephrology a multidisciplinary survey |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/12/12/e066212.full |
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