Assessing the socio-economic returns of biomedical research (I): How can we measure the relationship between research and health care?

Summary

The relationship between physicians' research activity and professional performance was examined. We have taken into account their motivation, job satisfaction and the way that research groups are organized. Previous studies have shown that physicians' research activity has a positive effect on clinical practice. They also show that motivation and job satisfaction are positively related with research activity. A group of 278 physicians from hospitals in Madrid were surveyed. A structural model was estimated using SEM techniques. The results indicate both job satisfaction (0.620) and motivation (0.236) are important factors. These results demonstrate the strategic value of both human resources policies and research management practices within hospitals.