Academic Service Partnerships: What do we learn from around the globe? A systematic literature review

Background: Academic Service Partnerships (ASPs) are structural linkages between universities and service entities that aim to share vision and collaboration, thereby improving patient care quality and encouraging innovation. Purpose: To identify structured ASPs in nursing worldwide and to describe their characteristics. Method: Systematic literature review of PubMed-, CINAHL-, PsycINFO-, and Embase- listed studies published up to August 31, 2010. ASPs were described in view of a predefined set of criteria. Results: A total of 114 articles describing 119 ASPs were included. Of these, 85% were located in North America. The median duration of ASPs was 6 years (interquartile range, 2-6). The majority focused on education (86%) and clinical practice (50%). Community health facilities (57%) and hospitals (40%) were prime settings. Twenty-two percent of ASPs were defined by contracts, 3% were governed by bylaws, and 66% were part of strategic plans (28%). Funding sources were mentioned in 76%. However, although 66% of ASPs have been evaluated, the evaluations are generally neither consistent nor reliable. Conclusions: ASPs show variability in setup, and their development seems to be fueled by policy reports.