Is our public research money well spent? Publication of research outputs from Health Research Council of New Zealand-funded studies: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the reporting of results from the projects and programmes funded by the Health Research Council (HRC) New Zealand.Design A cross-sectional analysis.Setting Research projects and programmes funded by the HRC New Zealand from 2006 to 2014.Participants Publicly available data provided by the HRC.Main outcome measures The number and proportion with evidence of publication and dissemination of a research output from HRC grants and the time taken to disseminate the results.Results Of the 374 HRC grants from 2006 to 2014, there was no evidence of publication or reporting of any research output for 48 studies (13%). Of the 326 (87%) grants with research outputs, there was a mean dissemination time of 4.73 years (SD 2.37). The total funding provided by the HRC was NZ$471 663 336, while the 48 grants with no evidence of dissemination represented NZ$47 095 727 (10%).Conclusions Thirteen per cent of the HRC projects and programmes from 2006 to 2014 have not contributed to the healthcare evidence as their results remain unknown.