Interdisciplinary Research in Assessing Relationships between Environmental Mixtures and Birth Outcomes: What Are the Essential Components for Collaboration?

摘要

Despite the potential utility of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing complex environmental health research questions, there is paucity of research. The Data mining & Neonatal outcomes (DoMiNO) project is an interdisciplinary research which explored relationships between environmental mixtures and adverse birth outcomes using innovative data mining methods. The project applied a collaborative approach building on participation, expertise and perspectives of researchers, clinicians, and knowledge-users to gain new knowledge and facilitate knowledge translation. To better understand collaborative, interdisciplinary research, we used qualitative case study methodology to identify essential components that may support the interdisciplinary environmental research from the team's experience. Using the DoMiNO project as an exemplar case study of collaborative research, data were obtained from a focus group with ten DoMiNO team members. Applying thematic analysis we identified essential structures, mechanisms, and attributes that supported the interdisciplinary team including: keeping open channels for feedback and ongoing rapport; providing different opportunities for engagement, participation and learning; ensuring repetition of backgrounds, methods and processes in an inclusive and supportive environment. These components, built relationships, enabled learning and created bridges between team members and disciplines. Specific motivators for collaboration were identified: individual roles; sharing results; the need to be flexible, patient, open minded/'let go' of usual ways of thinking and leadership commitment to the team building process. Interdisciplinary research is a long and complex journey and could be challenged by its nature and context. The components described support the collaborative research process, resulting in a worthwhile experience which provided exciting results and knowledge translation and exchange activities with researchers and knowledge users.