Advancing Critical Care Through Interdisciplinary Research

Abstract

This issue of the American Journal of Critical Care presents a pivotal report from the Multisociety Strategic Planning Task Force for Critical Care Research that outlines an agenda for research to improve outcomes in critically ill patients. The report lists 4 crucial themes for advancing critical care research and identifies research priorities in 5 broad categories (basic/cellular, translational, clinical, outcomes, and education). The 4 themes address the counterproductive nature of the traditional approach to conducting research in “silos,” the need to link diverse research approaches (such as basic and translational research), the importance of disease complexity and patient heterogeneity, and a need to improve research infrastructure. The task force is a joint effort of the Critical Care Societies Collaborative (CCSC), which is a formal collaboration among the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the American College of Chest Physicians, the American Thoracic Society, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. It includes experts from each of the CCSC member societies as well as the US Critical Illness and Injury Trials Group. In order to provide the widest exposure to critical care practitioners, the executive summary and/or recommendations are being published concurrently in the journals of the CCSC member societies (the American Journal of Critical Care and Critical Care Nurse, CHEST, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine).