ASPO Abstracts
How Do Transdisciplinary Research Approaches Support Cancer and Chronic Disease Prevention? Investigator Perspectives across two Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication
Conference Year: 2019
Abstract Body:
The Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer II (TREC) and Centers for Population Health and Health Disparities II (CPHHD) were two NIH-funded transdisciplinary initiatives that aimed to address energy balance and health disparities and their relationship to cancer and chronic disease. In this study, we gathered perspectives from TREC and CPHHD investigators to determine if and how their transdisciplinary collaborations resulted in novel products to address cancer and chronic disease prevention, management, and recurrence. Methods: In this multiple case study, we conducted semi-structured interviews with CPHHD II (n=25) and TREC II (n=41) investigators in 2015. We transcribed data and conducted a directed content analysis, in which we aimed to 1) characterize and compare outcomes of transdisciplinary collaboration that addressed disease prevention, management, and recurrence and 2) assess the contexts and processes that facilitated or hindered achievement of such outcomes across the two TD initiatives. Results: Both TREC and CPHHD aimed to integrate disciplinary perspectives to address energy balance and health disparities respectively but CPHHD II projects largely focused on a variety of policy issues and TREC II Centers commonly focused on the basic science of energetics. Investigators described similar outcomes of transdisciplinary collaborations, such as new methods, new multi-level intervention models to promote disease prevention and management, and translation of research findings into guidelines and public policy. Means to achieving those outcomes differed by research center and initiative. For example, some centers utilized a shared leadership model while others were led by a single director. A funded Coordination Center facilitated collaboration across TREC whereas an individual contractor supported CPHHD cross-center administration.Conclusions: Developing solutions to the multifaceted challenge of preventing cancer and chronic disease may be enhanced through collaborations that span academic disciplines and community sectors. However, effective collaborations depend on effective team processes and composition, infrastructure support, and team leadership.
Keywords: Transdisciplinary team science, health disparities, energy balance, collaboration