Recommendations for interdisciplinary research collaboration for early career dissemination and implementation researchers: A multi-phase study.

INTRODUCTION: Dissemination and implementation (D&I) scientists are key members of collaborative, interdisciplinary clinical and translational research teams. Yet, early career D&I researchers (ECRs) have few guidelines for cultivating productive research collaborations. We developed recommendations for ECRs in D&I when serving as collaborators or co-investigators. METHODS: We employed a consensus-building approach: (1) group discussions to identify 3 areas of interest: "Marketing yourself" (describing your value to non-D&I collaborators), "Collaboration considerations" (contributions during proposal development), and "Responsibilities following project initiation" (defining your role throughout projects); (2) first survey and focus groups to iteratively rank/refine sub-domains within each area; (3) second survey and expert input on clarity/content of sub-domains; and (4) iterative development of key recommendations. RESULTS: Forty-four D&I researchers completed the first survey, 12 of whom attended one of three focus groups. Twenty-nine D&I researchers completed the second survey (n = 29) and 10 experts provided input. We identified 25 recommendations. Findings suggest unique collaboration strengths (e.g, partnership-building) and challenges (e.g., unclear link to career milestones) for ECR D&I researchers, and underscore the value of ongoing training and mentorship for ECRs and the need to intersect collaborative D&I efforts with health equity principles. CONCLUSIONS: Research collaborations are essential in clinical and translational research. We identified recommendations for D&I ECRs to be productive research collaborators, including training and support needs for the field. Findings suggest an opportunity to examine research collaboration needs among early career D&I scientists, and provide guidance on how to successfully provide mentorship and integrate health equity principles into collaborative research.

Duke Scholars

Author Hannah Grace Lane Population Health Sciences

Author Hayden Barry Bosworth Population Health Sciences

Author Allison A. Lewinski School of Nursing