Barriers to engagement in implementation science research: A national survey

Abstract

Low levels of engagement in implementation science (IS) among health researchers is a multifaceted issue. With the aim of guiding efforts to increase engagement in IS research, we sought to identify barriers to engagement in IS within the health research community. We performed an online survey of health researchers in the United States in 2018. Basic science researchers were excluded from the sample. IS engagement was measured by self-reported conduct of or collaboration on an IS study in the past 5 years. Potential barriers tested were (a) knowledge and awareness of IS, (b) attitudes about IS research, (c) career benefits of IS, (d) research community support, and (e) research leadership support. We performed simple logistic regressions and tested multivariable logistic regression models of researcher characteristics and potential barriers as predictors of IS engagement. Of the 1,767 health researchers, 49.7% indicated they engaged in an implementation study. Being able to define IS (aOR 3.42, 95%CI 2.68-4.36, p