Translational research comprises many steps necessary across the spectrum, from laboratory bench findings to practical applications in healthcare. The main translation research levels include T1, T2, T3, and T4. According to Zarbin (2020), T1 involves moving basic scientific discoveries into early clinical testing, where interventions, such as new drugs or therapies, are tested for efficiency. However, Schulte et al. (2022) report that T2 is focused on translating these interventions into clinical guidelines and determining their efficiency through controlled trials. Finney et al. (2024) further state that T3 takes evidence-based interventions and shifts them into naturalistic clinical practice to study and assess their effectiveness in health outcomes. On the other hand, T4 explores the effect of such intervention on population health and health policies in the long term.
Translational research differs in aims and scope from evidence-based practice (EBP). Another major difference is that while translational research pursues taking scientific novelties from bench to bedside, EBP seeks to integrate clinical expertise with the best available evidence to provide patient care (Zarbin, 2020; Tsistinas, 2023). Moreover, while EBP grounds its clinical decisions upon already executed research, translational research deals with developing new knowledge and interventions that later get incorporated into EBP.
Translational research is essential in population health management because it fills the vacuum between scientific discovery and real-world healthcare translation. This model deals with the health problems common among diverse patient populations by assuring that new treatments and, where possible, preventions are developed, tested, and applied at the population levels (Finney et al., 2024). It thus improves health outcomes across diverse populations and reduces disease burden.
References
Finney, L. J., Ridgeway, J. L., & Griffin, J. M. (2024). Advancing translation of clinical research into practice and population health impact through implementation science. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 99(4), 665–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mayocp.2023.02.005
Schulte, P. A., Guerin, R. J., Cunningham, T. R., Hodson, L., Murashov, V., & Rabin, B. A. (2022). Applying translational science approaches to protect workers exposed to nanomaterials. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.816578
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