The Benefits and Barriers to Interdisciplinary Research in the Health Sciences in Canada

The present document responds to the request by the CAHS to design and implement an
assessment of the benefits and barriers to interdisciplinary health research (IDHR) in
Canada. It was developed by a panel of national experts representing the 6 health sciences
disciplines as well as government and industry. While there is a great deal of recent
interest and literature on the concept of “inter-professional practice”, it is beyond the scope
of this assessment, which deals strictly with aspects of the research enterprise within and
across all six disciplines.
As a framework, the document is divided into two sections: Part one is a case statement for
the assessment while Part 2 proposes some of the key areas of enquiry and the types of
investment necessary to undertake the study. Areas of enquiry include assessing IDHR in:
Academics; Granting agencies; Government; Industry, Professional Societies; along with a
look at the uniquely Canadian situation for IDHR and the ways in which research outputs
are/should be measured.
Nine study projects are proposed, corresponding to each area of enquiry. It is anticipated
that some of these study projects will be of interest to partners such as CIHR, NCEs or
Health Canada, who may wish to support one or more components of the research.
The panel understands this framework to be an iterative process in order to refine and
frame the final research questions and methodologies – particularly where partner
organisations are involved. Consequently, the draft timeline for the assessment prioritises,
fundamental groundwork and basic data collection needs to be determined before any of
the substantive questions are addressed in any detail.