title: A mixed methods study of the factors that influence whether intervention research has policy and practice impacts: perceptions of Australian researchers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate researchers' perceptions about the factors that influenced the policy and practice impacts (or lack of impact) of one of their own funded intervention research studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mixed method, cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intervention research conducted in Australia and funded by Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council between 2003 and 2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  The chief investigators from 50 funded intervention research studies were interviewed to determine if their study had achieved policy and practice impacts, how and why these impacts had (or had not) occurred and the approach to dissemination they had employed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found that statistically significant intervention effects and publication of results influenced whether there were policy and practice impacts, along with factors related to the nature of the intervention itself, the researchers' experience and connections, their dissemination and translation efforts, and the postresearch context.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study indicates that sophisticated approaches to intervention development, dissemination actions and translational efforts are actually widespread among experienced researches, and can achieve policy and practice impacts. However, it was the links between the intervention results, further dissemination actions by researchers and a variety of postresearch contextual factors that ultimately determined whether a study had policy and practice impacts. Given the complicated interplay between the various factors, there appears to be no simple formula for determining which intervention studies should be funded in order to achieve optimal policy and practice impacts.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Robyn
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Newson
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Lesley
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia School of Medicine, University of Notre Dame, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rychetnik
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Collaboration, School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Adrian E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bauman
authors.affiliation: Sax Institute, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Redman
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence, NSW Ministry of Health, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Milat
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chapman
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D001315:Australia; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005380:Financing, Government; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D017712:Peer Review, Research; D010465:Perception; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000379:methods*; D012108:Research Personnel; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
keywords: Health policy; Intervention Research; Knowledge Transfer; Research Impact; Translational Research