Authors' recommendations: In summary, this study shows that the CAHTA has contributed to medical knowledge in Catalonia with the funding of certain projects that have generated high quality scientific knowledge of interest, elevated bibliometric impact and a significant number of citations, and it has often done so indirectly; meaning not so much as a result of the immediate relevance of project results, but by helping to generate data that were subsequently used by strong research groups as elements that contributed to broader lines. This finding in the group of selected projects of excellence mirrors the analysis performed in Chapter 3 for the entirety of projects. The indirect nature of the CAHTA‟s contribution is also apparent from the importance of co-funding and external collaboration in high level scientific production, which the analysis also suggests. This is certainly a valuable contribution, and it is very possible that it is the most fertile contribution of funding agencies in general: it is less likely that funding from one single agency will facilitate scientific production of excellence, if this is indeed the objective to be reached. One should remember, however, that the funding of local interest studies that have potentially high health care relevance may have yielded contributions that are just as or even more important. These types of studies not been the objective of the current assessment. The other important conclusion of the study is that, in spite of the proven capacity of investigators to produce acceptable or good quality scientific knowledge, the repercussions of this research in clinical or health care decision making or in other scopes of society should still be determined. The majority of investigators do not seem definite about this matter either. For this reason a later, more thorough analysis is needed to provide more information on the impact of projects funded in the CAHTA Call on clinical practice and health care management in Catalonia.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.gencat.cat/salut/depsan/units/aatrm/pdf/isor_advancingknowlegde_cahta2010_3ed.pdf

Year Published: 2010

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Spain

Organisation Name: Agencia de Qualitat i Avaluacio Sanitries de Catalunya

Contact Address: Antoni Parada, CAHTA, Roc Boronat, 81-95 (2nd floor), 08005 Barcelona, Spain, Tel. +34 935 513 928, Fax: +34 935 517 510

Contact Name: direccio@aatrm.catsalut.net / aparada@aatrm.catsalut.net

Contact Email: direccio@aatrm.catsalut.net / aparada@aatrm.catsalut.net

Copyright: Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research (CAHTA)