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

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.