It is frequently stated that it takes an average of 17 years for research evidence to reach clinical practice.
This study was a literature review with the goal to describe and quantify time lags present in health research translation. Various papers quantifying these lags in the development of health interventions were included for review. 23 papers were identified as relevant to the inquiry. However, the lack of standardised methods, measures, time points between the studies heightened the difficulty of finding comparable results.
In the discussion of results, it was clear that the existing knowledge on these time lags offers limited utility to the people in charge of Research and Development, along with knowledge transfer - primarily due to the inefficiencies that arise from a lack of knowledge on what measures should or can be taken to decrease the lags. As a consequence, investment decisions are often made without adequate visibility, leading to potential waste of effort. The study concluded that there first needs to be an agreement on the models, definitions, measures that are pertinent to the understanding of these time lags. Subsequently, a process to gather information in line with these standards must be developed.
