Understanding the collaborative experience between researchers and health care practitioners: Implications for gerontological nursing practice

The health care field is a new arena for collaborative research carried out by practitioner-researcher teams. Although the current literature discusse s factors supportive of such teams, most evidence is anecdotal or descripti ve of pilot projects. In this article, the authors use survey and interview data to document health care practitioners' views on collaborative researc h with an experienced researcher/mentor. Topics covered include a. descript ion of the research project and process, positive and negative aspects of d oing research, expectations, recommendations to colleagues starting researc h, and desirable characteristics in practitioners and researchers on collab orative research teams. Of all attributes mentioned, personal traits and sk ills were among the most frequently mentioned for both practitioners and re searchers, followed by research knowledge and attitudes for practitioners, and teaching skills for researchers. The article also addresses factors imp ortant to the success of collaborative research: how to develop a project, characteristics of collaborative team members, team functioning, and instit utional support.