Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-8-2012
Abstract
Substantial resources invested in medical research have generated revolutionary discoveries in medical science. However, it takes 17 years to translate 14% of research findings into clinical practice. The gap between science and practice is labeled as “the Valley of Death” and has been framed as a “lost in translation” problem, therefore the effort has been focusing on the promotion of translational research and translators—physician scientists who understand both science and practice languages. Despite many educational and funding programs, physician’s research interest has declined and the gap has not been narrowed. To understand the underlying mechanism, we conducted a qualitative study involving for the first time scientists and physicians as well as physician scientists in the same study. Without presupposing the research and practice gap to be a translation problem, we asked what their lived experience is like in research, application of science into practice, translational research and physician-scientist partnership. Our data reveals that the gap is not only a knowledge translation problem but also a collaboration problem between science and clinical practice. There are many cultural, social and institutional barriers at both personal and organizational levels that hinder physician-scientist partnership and translational research. Our data also uncovers many facilitating factors, and reveals a critical and essential role of individuals in medical discovery and application. Our study suggests that the Valley of Death is a result of socio-cultural and institutional problems in addition to the knowledge translation problem. Our study offers a new way to view and think the challenges in knowledge production and application.
Keywords
healthcare, knowledge to practice, collaboration, socio-cultural barriers, institutional structure, physician-scientist partnership
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Wang, Yunmei, "The "Valley Of Death" In Medicine Is Not Only A Knowledge Translation But Also A Socio-Cultural And Institutional Problem" (2012). Student Scholarship. 430.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/430
