Collaborative networks for both improvement and research.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical research translation
• Health services research
• Pediatric therapeutic development

Background:

• Translating therapeutic discoveries into clinical practice requires T2 (patient-centered outcomes) and T3 (healthcare delivery) research.
• Pediatric research often lacks sufficient evidence for therapeutic safety and efficacy.
• Collaborative improvement networks offer a model for advancing research translation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the role of collaborative improvement networks in advancing T2 and T3 research.
• To emphasize the utility of these networks for pediatric therapeutic translation.
• To align with the Institute of Medicine's Learning Healthcare Systems model.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing collaborative networks as large-scale health system laboratories.
• Engaging clinicians, researchers, patients, and parents in research translation.
• Establishing total population registries for large, representative study samples.
• Employing quality-improvement methods to standardize care and reduce outcome variation.

Main Results:

• Networks facilitate the testing of approaches to translate research into practice.
• They provide robust data for evidence generation and clinical decision-making.
• Standardized practices reduce outcome variability and increase statistical power for new strategy testing.

Conclusions:

• Collaborative improvement networks are vital for pediatric T2 and T3 research.
• These networks support the Institute of Medicine's Learning Healthcare Systems model.
• Networks enable both care improvement and the study of improvement strategies.