Impact of Research Training on Newly Graduated Health Professionals’ Motivation to Undertake Research

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics and Research Training Experience of Participants*

	Variable/Characteristics	N (%)
Gender	Male	25 (21.9)
	Female	89 (78.1)
Age	Up to 23 Years	46 (40.4)
	24–28 Years	33 (28.9)
	29-and above	62 (30.7)
Residency status	Australian citizen/Perm	102 (89.5)
	Resident
	Temporary Resident	12 (10.5)
Profession	Allied Health	8 (7)
	Medical	33 (28.9)
	Nursing/Midwifery	73 (64)
Country of completion of qualification	Australia	114 (100)
Qualification	Postgraduate	15 (13.2)
	Undergraduate	99 (86.8)
Career path stage	Early career	109 (95.6)
	Mid-career	2 (1.8)
	Late career	3 (2.6)
Location	THHS	114 (100)
Worked in another major city hospital	Yes	16 (14.2)
	No	97 (85.8)
Research Training Experience
Have you previously participated in research training?		n=110
	Yes	48 (43.6)
	No	62 (56.4)
If yes, would you describe this as a positive experience?		n=48
	Yes	43 (89.6)
	No	5 (62.5)
Would you be prepared to participate again?		n=48
	Yes	41 (85.4)
	No	7 (14.6)
If you HAVE NOT previously participated in research training, please indicate why	Free text comments content analysis	n=39
	Lack of opportunity	18 (46.2)
	Had never been asked	11 (28.2)
	Did not know it existed	7 (17.9)
	Lack of time/interest	3 (7.7)
	Total	39 (100)

Notes: *Total sample n=114.

Table 2 Influence of Demographics on Participants’ Research Capabilities*

Variable	Previous Research Training		Age Groups			Gender		Professional Group
	Yes	No	Up to 23 Years	24–28 years	29 and Above	Male	Female	Allied Health	Medical	Nursing and Midwifery
Research Training Experience	3.0 (3.0–3.0)^a P = 0.001	0.0 (0.0–1.0)^b	0.5 (0–2.0)^b P = 0.005	2 (0 −3.0)^a	1 (0–3.0)^ab	3 (1–3)^a P = 0.002	1 (0–3)^b	2 (0.5–3.0)^ab P = 0.034	3 (0–3.0)^a	1 (0–2.3)^b
Time for Research	22.0 (19.0–26.0)	23.0 (20.0–25.0)	21.0 (18.8–24.0)	23.0 (21.0–25.0)	22 (19.0–26.5)	23.0 (18.5–25.5)	22.0 (20.0–25.0)	19 (14.0–26.0)	22 (20–22.0)	23 (20–26)
Training Initiatives	26.5 (22.0–28.0)	25.5 (22.3–28.0)	25.0 (22.0–28.0)	24.5 (22.3–27.8)	27.0 (23.0–9.0)	27.0 (23.5–30.0)	25.0 (22.0–28.0)	25.0 (22.0–30.0)	26.0 (23.0–28.0)	26.0 (22.0–28.0)
Factors Influencing Attendance	54.5 (48.8–59.0)	54.0 (50.0–58.0)	55.0 (49.5–58.0)	54.5 (50.3–57.5)	54.0 (47.0–0.0)	56.0 (50.0–1.5)	54.0 (49.0–57.8)	53.0 (48.0–55.0)	55.0 (49.3–58.5)	54.0 (49.0–58.0)
Confidence to Undertake Research	29.0 (23.8–36.0)^a P=0.004	25.0 (20.–30.8)^b	25.0 (20.5–30.0)	27.0 (23.0–31.5)	30.0 (19.5–5.3)	27.0 (22.0–37.0)	27.0 (21.0–33.0)	32.0 (27.0–35.0)	27.0 (21.3–33.8)	26.0 (21.0–33.0)
Motivation to Undertake Research	27.0 (25.0–31.0)	27.0 (24.0–30.0)	27.0 (24.5–29.0)	28.0 (26.0–30.0)	27.0 (24.0–33.5)	29.0 (26.5–3.5) P=0.044	27.0 (24.3–30.3)	25.0 (23.0–30.0)	27.0 (25.3–30.0)	28.0 (24.0–30.0)
Value of Research	52.5 (50.0–58.0)	52.0 (48.0–56.0)	53.0 (48.5–56.0)	51.5 (49.8–57.0)	52.0 (48.0–61.0)	55.5 (49.5–59.8)	51.5 (49.0–56.0)	51.0 (48.0–52.0)	51.5 (49.0–55.0)	54.0 (49.0–57.5)

Notes: *P values reported for two group analysis. Mann–Whitney U-Test followed by Bonferroni correction for previous research training and gender. For age groups and professional groups Kruskal–Wallis H-Test followed by Mann–Whitney U-Test with Bonferroni correction. ^{a, b}Within each variable, values with different superscripts are significantly different.

Table 3 Influence of Confidence and Value on Motivation to Undertake Research

Variable/Characteristics	Motivation Level
	Low Median (IQR)	High Median (IQR)	P value*
Confidence to undertake research	25.0 (24.0–27.0)	31.0 (30.0–34.0)	0.118
Overall Value attributed to research	25.0 (24.0–27.0)	30.0 (29.0–33.3)	0.001
Attainment Value attributed to research	26.0 (24.0–27.0)	31.0 (30.0–34.0)	0.001
Intrinsic Value attributed to research	26.0 (24.0–28.5)	30.5 (28.0–34.0)	0.001
Utility Value attributed to research	27.0 (24.0–29.0)	29.0 (25.75–32.25)	0.003

Note: *P values reported from Mann–Whitney U-Test with Bonferroni correction.

Table 4 Triangulation of Study Findings Using the Expectancy + Value – Cost = Motivation Model

Overarching Theme	Quantitative Findings	Qualitative Findings	Synthesis of Findings
Perceptions and expectancy of participating in research/research training	Participants who had prior research training experience were significantly (P<0.004 Median (IQR) 29.0 (23.8–36.0) more confident to undertake research compared to those who had no previous research training Median (IQR) 25.0 (20.0–30.8).	“I wish that I had done more formal research training. That would have given me a little bit more confidence and I guess having more confidence and more structure in what I could offer to the team definitely would have benefitted, I think”. (P2 FI) “I think research training would increase motivation to follow through and complete research for people that are not engaged or already involved, or probably need a bit of guidance. I think it does have a role to play. It just depends on - I am not sure how much of a role or where the role starts” (P7 MI)	Research training experience is pivotal to inspire confidence to undertake research and should be included in HPs undergraduate and post-graduate curriculums. Research training should be available in the context of the workplace for those with/without prior exposure to research or research training. Research training is a fundamental precursor for enabling the undertaking of research by HPs throughout their career trajectory.
Value and connection to research	While confidence to undertake research was not a significant factor for the motivation to undertake research, Value proved highly significant to motivation to undertake research. Participants with high motivation levels attributed significantly higher ((P<0.001) Median (IQR) 30.0 (29.0–33.3)) value to research than those who had low motivation levels (Median (IQR) 25.0 (24.0–27.0)). Intrinsic and attainment values were significant at P<0.001 while utility value was significant at P<0.003.	“I understand research is not for everybody but as far as research goes, I think it’s extremely important. As a medical practitioner, it’s the only way we further our knowledge and it benefits our patients, so it’s very important. Then the training, doing research properly is extremely important for the same reasons. It helps us get rid of medical myths and stuff that, you know, and it also helps us make a lot of changes”. (P8 MI) “I think it’s largely intrinsic for me. I am passionate about it and I do find adding value to or finding some knowledge or answer questions like that is quite interesting. I think it adds another dimension to my work or my understanding of - for my learning as well”. (P7 MI) “I would think, oh, that would be beneficial to make improvements in practice because I suppose I am still passionate about nursing, so if I could do research training to eventually improve patient outcomes or related to my career, I suppose, that would motivate me” (P1 FN)	Value factors of research: attainment, intrinsic and utility values should be emphasised during research training to foster motivation for research at the individual, team, and organisational levels. Inculcating the concept of value in research training of HPs may emanate a sense of connection to research through the value of research to enable HPs to re-evaluate their own value of research and encourage participation.
Barriers to undertaking research/research training	Only 11.2% felt their research time is protected When asked why they have not participated in research training, participants indicated that it was because of lack of opportunity (46.2%), had never been asked (28.2%), did not know it existed (17.9%) or because of lack of time/interest (7.7%). 75.3% Agreed or Strongly Agreed taking time off work would influence their ability to attend research training. 63.8% respondents Agreed or Strongly Agreed that financial support would influence ability to attend research training	“I think time is the biggest barrier at the moment [laughs], unfortunately, because the variability of our schedule is a bit hard to predict, depending on what term we are on or how many hours work we have to put in or how busy the week is, or how busy the team is. So that’s probably the biggest thing, and it’s hard to plan to those things if I know I have got two-hour sessions every week or so to also account for” (P7 MI). “There’s not lots of advertising or I don’t think there’s many opportunities that are open to me” (P1 FN). “I think not knowing where to start. It’s a very - research is very broad and a little bit overwhelming. So without research training I feel like it’s a bit difficult to know where to go (P12 FN). “Probably cost, I think is a significant one. I guess availability of courses and probably advertising the courses. It’s not really published or advertised that much, or not in any way I have seen it. Those are probably the main ones, I think. Time, I guess, is the other thing, being able to…” (P7 MI) “I think it’s not offered to junior or like very beginner clinicians, just because they, I guess, think that you need to have a foundation and a - [indistinct 3:36] need to finish your graduate year in order to have enough knowledge and a base to develop practice, rather than focus on research and more advanced practice (P6 MN)	Educational institutions and the workplaces of HPs should embed guaranteed time, opportunities for participation in research/training and financial support (for funding to undertake commercial research courses or funding to free up research time thereby embedding guaranteed research time) as a high priority in planning their research training programs. Increasing the flexibility of clinical rosters to enable participation in both research training and research during work time; Increasing the promotion of research opportunities and encouragement and support from the whole organisation would enhance facilitation of the uptake of research training/research for new graduate HPs already in their clinical roles. This implies the organisation may need to review its support and funding structure for research and researchers in line with its overall goal of incorporating a research culture to facilitate research opportunities particularly for new graduate HPs