Interdisciplinary collaboration in the pursuit of science to improve psychosocial cancer care.
OBJECTIVE
Drawing on her substantial research experience in oncology and nursing, the 2009 Fox Award winner, Dr McCorkle, describes ways to advance the science of psychosocial oncology through collaboration.


METHODS
Critical literature illustrating barriers to collaboration and successful collaborative process are reviewed and compared to the author's personal experiences.


RESULTS
Currently, many researchers are beginning to see the need for collaboration, and yet many infrastructures, universities, and centers continue to create isolated researchers and research environments. Despite the need, there is a dearth of practical and tangible guidelines as well as theoretical defenses for performing collaborative research. This article addresses these gaps with such insights as the need for a team of experts built on humility and trust, pre- and post-study networks across disciplines and settings, consistent meetings of staff as well as resources to support them, intervention monitoring techniques, and the crucial necessity for a stable institutionalized infrastructure that fosters collaboration, research and mentoring despite inevitable personnel turnover.


CONCLUSIONS
These insights that stem from the distinctive nursing lens provide crucial methods for advancing the science and addressing the uniquely interdisciplinary nature of oncology.
McCorkle
Ruth
R
Yale University School of Nursing, New Haven, CT 06536-0740, USA. ruth.mccorkle@yale.edu
D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010348:Patient Care Team