Question:
Do health trusts/services/clinics that are research active (intensive), have better health outcomes (mortality/reduced symptoms/reduced recovery time) than trusts/services/clinics that do less or no research?
Answer:
No
definite clinical implications can be made from the available
evidence. It does appear, however, that lower mortality rates are
observed in institutions that are involved in clinical trials
although this does not necessarily demonstrate a causal
relationship. The authors of a systematic review suggested that
there might also be beneficial effects for patients who receive
non-trial treatment from practitioners or in institutions that take
part in trials. They stated that the reasons for this difference
were unclear, and the relatively small amount of research on this
subject and the possible influence of confounding by patient
characteristics mean that this conclusion should be viewed with
caution and is not robust enough to influence practice.
The authors of the systematic review also suggested that more
research is needed to identify and minimise factors that might
influence differences between patients treated by trial
practitioners or in trial institutions compared to those treated
elsewhere. They also suggested that larger numbers of patients,
practitioners and institutions should be included in future studies
to have sufficient power to detect moderate differences.