Determinants of, and interventions to support, pharmacy professionals' research engagement: a systematic review using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

BACKGROUND

Pharmacy professionals are increasingly expected to engage in research to advance evidence-based practice and improve patient care. Despite this, research engagement remains limited. Developing evidence and theory-based strategies to address the deficit requires understanding the determinants (barriers or enablers) to research engagement and reviewing previous attempts to address the problem.

OBJECTIVE

To identify determinants of pharmacy professionals' engagement in research and intervention components used to increase research engagement, using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) as an a priori framework.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted across MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL (2010-2025) to identify studies reporting determinants or interventions supporting pharmacy professional research engagement. Determinants were mapped to TDF domains and intervention components mapped to the Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) taxonomy.

RESULTS

From 23 studies, determinants were organised into three themes. (1) Perception, Value, and Understanding of Research comprised of determinants associated with knowledge, perceived relevance to practice, and confidence; (2) Research Environment and Resources, concerning time, skills, and research infrastructure; and (3) Social and Professional Culture related to peer support, perceived professional expectation, and organisational research culture. Forty intervention components extracted from 11 studies were mapped to BCTs, frequently targeting knowledge, skills, and environment. No interventions addressed professional expectation or emotional barriers to research.

CONCLUSIONS

Research engagement among pharmacy professionals is influenced by determinants across multiple domains of behaviour, indicating research engagement is a complex behaviour. Interventions will likely require multiple BCT components to achieve effective behaviour change. Determinants suggest system-level changes may be required to facilitate design and implementation of interventions.