Special Issue of Health Services Research Links Health Care Research and Health Policy

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars alumni bridge the gap between research and health policy in this special issue of HSR: Health Services Research.

For more than three decades, the RWJF Clinical Scholars program has fostered the development of physicians who are leading the transformation of health care in the United States through positions in academic medicine, public health, and other leadership roles. The goal of the program is to integrate scholars’ clinical expertise with training in program development and research methods to help them find solutions for the challenges posed by the U.S. health care system, community health, and health services research.

An important outcome of this integrated work is the explored connections and intersections of different fields; especially salient in today’s world is the connection of research and health policy. As authors Clancy, Glied and Lurie argue, health services researchers can influence policy-making by:

• identifying critical problems;
• researching the benefits and harms of policy solutions;
• estimating the costs and consequences of policy proposals; and
• actively participating in the policy process to aid decision-making.

The articles in this special issue illustrate the role RWJF Clinical Scholars (current scholars and alumni) play in creating opportunities for linking research and health policy, and provides examples of scholars’ work where research and health policy come together to improve health and health care.