What are the conditions for clinical research in Sweden?

The analysis identifies challenges at national level to conducting clinical research in parallel with clinical work in health and medical care. It describes and analyses challenges relating to gender equality, career paths, incentives for clinical research, and safeguarding time for research. The analysis is based on a survey and interviews with focus groups.

One of the most important conditions for being able to conduct clinical research is to be allowed to set aside time for doing this in parallel with clinical practice. Almost 30 per cent of the clinical researchers in the ALF regions do not have any contracted time at all for research – this applies in particular to junior researchers.

Clinical research needs support from the highest level

In the survey, researchers emphasise the conditions that are important for clinical research – and the extent to which these conditions are implemented in their own organisations. They consider that healthcare principals must guarantee research time, resources and incentives for clinical research to a greater extent than applies today.

The research culture in health and medical care is generally perceived as being weak, and many researchers state that clinical research is not sufficiently prioritised and valued by the organisation.

“The conditions for clinical researchers in Sweden must quite clearly be improved. The result shows that clinical research needs to be promoted at all levels in healthcare organisations and in collaborations, at both national and international level. We hope that our report can be used as the basis for such discussions,” says Jonas Oldgren, Secretary General for Clinical Research at the Swedish Research Council.

Read the report “The conditions for clinical researchers in Sweden” (in Swedish with summary in English)