Research Activity and Patient Outcomes
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Associations between Research Activity and Patient Health Outcomes (ARAPAHO)
IRAS ID
291757
Contact name
Peter Bower
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 6 months, 2 days
Research summary
Although much NHS care is outstanding, in some areas the NHS lags behind other countries, and sometimes care in some parts of the country is not as good as others.\nResearch is really important to improve quality, by helping the NHS find better ways of delivering care. However, putting research into practice takes time.\nEvidence suggests that when NHS hospitals take part in research, the fact that they take part may lead to better quality care for their patients, even while the research is being done. However, most evidence of the link between research activity and quality comes from hospitals. If taking part in research improved quality in general practice, the benefits could be large, but we cannot assume that any link we find in hospitals will be the same in general practice.\n \nWe will answer 5 questions:\n• Do practices taking part in more research provide better quality of care?\n• How might taking part in research improve quality?\n• What do patients and staff think makes a good ‘research practice?’\n• What are the impacts on patients and staff from being in a research practice?\n• How can research in general practice be supported?\n \nIn the first part of this project, we will use routine data which is available to see whether practices that do research provide better quality of care. We will then use this data to see what makes practices take part in research, and whether it is taking part in research that leads these practices to provide better quality care.\nSecondly, we will use the data to find practices with different profiles of research activity. Eligible participants are the staff and patients in those practices. We will record some background information, and ask staff and patients about their experience of research, and how research impacts on care. The interviews will take around an hour.\n
Lay summary of study results: Research provides knowledge to improve NHS care. Studies have shown that hospitals that do more research deliver better care and outcomes for patients - simply by carrying out the research. The reasons for this relationship are not clear.This study looked at whether a similar relationship exists between research and outcomes in general practice.
We gathered information from general practices, patients and others involved in research using a mix of questionnaires, interviews and statistical data.
We found that many practices do research, but most do modest amounts and it varies each year. Practices that did more research had slightly better outcomes, including better clinical care and more satisfied patients. However, we did not find strong evidence that doing research caused those improvements. This may be because the amount of research is modest.
Some patients were concerned that research might be a distraction (for example, reducing time available for appointments). However, we found no evidence of any disadvantages.
We asked patients and practice staff what makes a ‘good research practice?’. They highlighted factors such as having a research ‘champion’, good teamworking and wider support from local research networks and patient groups.Practice staff suggested ways of encouraging research, including funding, challenging negative ideas about research and having the right support network.
Our main finding was that general practice involvement in research does generally result in better care and outcomes for patients.
Doctors and nurses reported that their involvement in research helped relieve some of the pressure of their work, and patients thought it was a good idea that practices were involved.
In summary, practices that do more research have slightly better outcomes but it is less likely that doing research directly causes these changes. Both patients and professionals see advantages to practices doing research, and we found no evidence of disadvantages.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0251
Date of REC Opinion
5 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion