Impact of Research on Care
Page last updated on 12 January 2024
Evidence base for the Impact of Research on the Quality of Care
A growing body of evidence shows that trusts with high levels of clinical research activity have better patient outcomes (e.g. lower mortality rates).
Evidence of the benefits of being research active
Encouraging a research-positive culture in health and care organisations is important to give patients wider access to clinical research, improving patient care and treatment options.
Evidence shows that clinically research-active hospitals have:
Better patient care outcomes:
Patients at research active hospitals have more confidence in staff (Jonker L, et al, 2019)
This cross-sectional study found that patients admitted to more research-active hospitals tended to be better informed about their condition and medication.
Study activity, mortality rates and CQC ratings in NHS trusts (Jonker L, Fisher J, 2017)
A retrospective cross-sectional study showed a correlation in trust between increased research and reduced deaths.
Research activity and the association with mortality (Ozdemir BA, et al, 2015)
This study found that research-active trusts have lower risk-adjusted mortality for acute admissions.
Cancer survival outcomes in hospitals with high research participation (Downing A, et al, 2016)
A population-based study demonstrating a strong independent association between survival of colorectal cancer and participation in interventional clinical studies.
A happier workforce:
Academic factors in medical recruitment (Rees MR, Bracewell M, 2019)
This paper investigates the evidence that increasing the academic component of medical posts may help retain recruitment in the medical workforce.
Adapting, Coping, Compromising research (.PDF) (GMC, 2018)
A GMC report on the pressures faced by doctors and the impact on patient care.
Career Fit and Burnout Among Academic Faculty (Shanafelt TD, et al, 2009)
A comparative study highlights the inverse relationship between the amount of time physicians spend on work they find meaningful and the risk of burnout.
Benefits for the health and care system:
Advancing health (.PDF) (Medical Schools Council, 2022)
This report on the impact of UK medical schools’ research demonstrates how research improves clinical practice, reduces the cost of healthcare, and drives policy change.
Transforming Health through innovation (Academy of Medical Sciences, 2019)
A compilation of case studies supporting the need to integrate the NHS and health research.
Engagement of clinicians and organisations in research and healthcare performance (Boaz A, et al, 2015)
A three-stage review suggesting an association between the engagement of healthcare organisations in research and improvements in healthcare performance.
What we know and what we need to know
We need to strengthen this evidence to support further improvements in research culture.
The NIHR Network organised a workshop in January 2020 to discuss what we currently know about the link between research activity and outcomes, to identify priorities for further research in this area. Led by Professor Pete Bower (National Specialty Lead for Health Services Research) and the Health & Care Engagement Team a group of academic researchers, users of research in health and care, funders patients, and the public were brought together as part of a workshop.
Following the workshop, 3 core recommendations were made and can be found in the report linked below.
Research Impact Workshop Report.docx.pdfRecommendation 1
That further work in this field is supported by the research community and funders
Recommendation 2
That this further work builds on the existing evidence, with a focus on the following priority areas:
● In which settings is there a relationship between research activity and outcomes?
● What are the mechanisms linking research activity and outcomes?
● Can the associations between research activity and outcomes be used for quality improvement?
Recommendation 3
That further work in this field is supported by mapping the data needed for further investigation, especially in contexts outside of hospitals
Ongoing work to look at the correlation between research activity in primary and community care organisations and their care outcomes is underway. Early indications are that there are positive correlations in this sector too but we await final reports.
Additional information
In addition to the above, it might be helpful to become familiar with some of the other evidence when interacting with care staff and management at various levels. It will enable you to show another aspect of the value of research in the care provision:
Thames Valley & South Midlands Network held a Primary Care Research Symposium in May 2023 . Peter Bower, Professor of Health Services Research at, the University of Manchester was one of the Keynote Speakers. He gave early insights as to whether research activity improves the quality of care in general practice from the ARAPAHO study.
Bower_2.mp4