In 2023-2024, faculty and staff in the ETSU Child and Family Health Institute and Department of Pediatrics conducted a regional study using electronic surveys and focus groups to identify resources, barriers, and opportunities for facilitating interprofessional and transdisciplinary child and family health research and scholarship. Highlights from this research, summarized here, may be useful for improving policies and practices for stakeholders including institutions for higher education, community organizations, and state agencies.
What Sources of Information Would You Prefer to Use?
- More accessible, actionable date
- Need research on issues immediately relevant to communities
- Need local data
- Need enthusiasm for engaging with new information and applying it to serve families
- Brief, impactful summaries that could be shared with families
- Cross-institutional partnerships improve access to information
- Mentorship is vital for understanding information and opportunities
- Preference for interactive learning
Ways to Facilitate Collaboration
- Need leadership and organizational support for collaboration
- Dedicated resources and personnel
- Facilitate introductions to potential collaborators
- Provide support for engagement in joint projects (i.e., coordinate meetings)
- Tailor communications rather than mass email
- Maintain centralized platforms for resources and collaboration opportunities and updates (who does what in the community)
- Regular forums, open meetings, and groups for collaboration (during work hours)
- Collaborative brainstorming sessions to pool knowledge and develop innovative solutions
- Discussion of ongoing projects
- Avoid burden of formula agenda, but have meeting "themes"
- Information gathers (potlucks or happy hours), as social gatherings build connections
- Study design consideration
- Qualitative research to facilitate community member imput
- Ensure that data collected for one project could be used more broadly
- Need sustainable, successful models for collaboration rather than one-time projects
Challenges
- Challenges with data usage due to permissions
- Email fatigue and information overload
- Setting alerts on Google Scholar
Barriers
- Financial limitations (esp. for non-profits)
- Competing priorities and time constraints (time management, email overload)
- Institutional and organizational challenges include bureaucratic processes, varying organizational practices, and staff turnover
- Accessing information and potential collaborators
- Research relevance to practice and community needs
- Advocacy efforts are needed
- New to role or lacking academic experience
Approaches to Overcoming
- Engaging stakeholders with policymakers can drive systemic change
- Streamlined processes and cleareer communication regarding resources and opportunities
- Foster opportunities for networking and building on existing relationships
- Using digital tooks for meetings, information sharing, and management
- Design collaboration opportunities to result in outcomes that benefit communities served
- Mentorship is key
What Else is Important?
- Collaborate to support comprehensive child and family health and well-being
- Relationship-building highlighted (trust and familiarity often dictate collaboration opportunities)
- Understand cultural and socioeconomic contexts of populations served, and recognize system issues requiring collaborative attention
- Use feedback from community partners and stakeholders in guiding and improving collaborative efforts
Acknowledgements
- Findings from: Developing Strategies to Improve and Facilitate Collaborative Research
- This study was reviewed and approved by the ETSU IRB.
- Funding by a grant from the National Organization of Research Development.
- Acknowledgements: Katie Duvall (original PI), Karen Schetzina (final PI) Ester Adebayo Abikoye, Lori Moore, Meredith Jordan and Chandni Naidoo