Objectives:

• To identify key priorities and barriers for research development in health librarianship

• To gain consensus on key questions to be included in a national survey for research development in health librarianship

Please give a brief justification of your proposed research project:

The aim of this focus group study is to identify key issues relating to the engagement with research of health librarians with research and in particular, their consideration of research development in the contexts of their professional practice.

The existing healthcare system is based on accountability, cost containment, and quality of care; fundamental to the achievement of these is the integration and application of the results of sound, reliable research and therefore the practice and delivery of evidence based patient care^1-3.  The latest Government documents which consider the future of the NHS confirms the continued Government prioritisation of this in highlighting the need to develop a strategy for leadership in health related research^1-4.  The development of research capacity goes hand in hand with research and development activities and the Department of Health proposes that building research capacity will be achieved primarily through the application of collaborative practice models^5-6.

Librarians are fundamentally associated with research; their work involves the organisation and management of the knowledge that is generated from research.  The recent review of NHS library services⁷ identifies research as one of the four key areas where librarians have an essential role and recommends that the Department of Health issues formal guidance indicating this.  Given this recommendation health librarians will in the future increasingly need to become more engaged with research.  Furthermore, as research capacity building is becoming increasingly significant within the current climate of research and development in health, it is necessary to consider the role of health librarianship in this context.  This is particularly pertinent in light of the recent Hill Report⁹ which specifically recommends that “research to measure the impact of the application of best available evidence in decision making should continue to be pursued vigorously and routinely by health librarians, in partnership with researchers”.

It is hoped that the end result of this focus group study will be a clearer identification of the priorities and barriers in relation to research development in health librarianship and to reach a consensus agreement which will inform the development of a national questionnaire survey which will explore these issues in greater depth.