Het zichtbaar maken van de maatschappelijke impact van gezondheidsonderzoek

Dutch university medical centres (UMC’s) are required to demonstrate the contribution that their research makes to solving problems related to public health and health care. This social impact could be in the form of research that has a direct connection with important social problems or in the effective application of scientific knowledge to the health services and other areas. The research agenda is determined to a great extent by the availability of external funding, the existence of a specific social problem, and the type patients presenting for clinical care. These mechanisms offer no guarantee that research will be conducted into important problems. The Dutch Advisory Council on Health Research proposes that UMC’s should report annually on indicators of the social impact of health related research. These indicators include the efforts made by researchers to pass on their knowledge to health care practice and to the actual application of this knowledge in the health service. The emphasis is on a qualitative analysis of the contribution of research to solving public health and health care issues.