SLÁINTE 4C Healthier Communities: capacity, culture and collaboration for community health in education and research at the University of Limerick

Introduction: Increased research capacity in health care leads to improved patient outcomes; however, knowledge translation can be challenging in the community setting. In line with our social accountability values, it is essential that outcomes in terms of policy and practice updates are measured and tracked over time, in order to understand the evidence-based impact of our research on services, patients and the public. The aim of this presentation is to describe the evaluation of collaborative capacity and culture building for community health education and research in the SLÁINTE Alliance at the University of Limerick.

Methods: Mixed methods will be employed longitudinally in the SLÁINTE 4C Healthier Communities Study. At annual time-points, this will include a mapping exercise of metrics utilising the Scopus database and a quantitative survey via Qualtrics software to capture current academic activity of SLÁINTE members. World Café style Focus Groups will also be undertaken to provide qualitative data for analysis.

Results: This research is ongoing. To date, a project Steering Group has been formed that includes representatives from general practice, primary health care and public health. A proposal is under development for an ethics application prior to commencement of data collection.

Discussion: It is hoped that the findings of this study will help to inform the future strategy of the SLÁINTE Alliance and will build the collaborative capacity and culture for research and education in the School of Medicine to ensure that health and well-being is optimised for all across regional, national and international community settings.