Information transfer: what do decision makers want and need from researchers?

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to undertake a systematic assessment of the need for research-based information by decision-makers working in community-based organizations. It is part of a more comprehensive knowledge transfer and exchange strategy that seeks to understand both the content required and the format/methods by which such information should be presented. Methods:This was a cross-sectional telephone survey. Questions covered current practices, research use, and demographic information, as well as preferences for receiving research information. Three types of organizations participated: Children's Treatment Centres of Ontario (CTCs); Ontario Community Care Access Centres (CCACs); and District Health Councils (DHCs). The analysis used descriptive statistics and analyses of variance (ANOVA) to describe and explore variations across organizations. Results:The participation rate was 70%. The highest perception of barriers to the use of research information was reported by the CCAC respondents, followed by CTCs and DHCs. The CTCs and DHCs reported greater use of research evidence in planning decisions as compared to the CCACs. Four sources of information transfer were consistently identified. These were websites, health-related research journals, electronic mail, and conferences and workshops. Preferred formats for receiving information were executive summaries, abstracts, and original articles. Conclusion:There were a number of similarities across organization type with respect to perceived barriers to research transfer, as well as the types of activities the organizations engaged in to promote research use in decision-making. These findings support the importance of developing interactive, collaborative knowledge transfer strategies, as well as the need to foster relationships with health care decision-makers, practitioners and policymakers.

Assessing the research use and needs of organizations promoting healthy living for adults with disabilities

“…Participants rated each item on a five-point scale (1=not an issue to 5=a very serious issue). This scale was found to be reliable in past studies [11] and in this study (Cronbach's alpha=.77)…”

“…Adapting to the local context (objective 2) Regarding preferences for receiving and reading research, individuals in this study indicated similar Only 60 of 62 participants provided their education levels ORIGINAL RESEARCH preferences as those outlined in studies by Dobbins and colleagues [11] and Wilson et al [9]. Specifically, individuals preferred receiving research evidence from conferences/workshops, emails and websites.…”

“…Barriers-This six-item measure assessed various barriers to research access and use such as availability of research, lack of time and training [11]. Participants rated each item on a five-point scale (1=not an issue to 5=a very serious issue).…”

“…Gaining insight into the types of research CBOs value can help understand CBOs' research evidence preferences and, in turn, improve the strategies aimed at translating the research evidence to these CBOs. Dobbins and colleagues [11] showed that decision makers in health organizations preferred receiving research evidence from conferences/ workshops, short summaries, colleagues and professional journals. Half of the sample also preferred to read executive summaries, while one third opted to read scientific abstracts.…”

“…Among employees of CBOs engaged in health promotion in the general population, time and availability of relevant research were determined as barriers [11], while time was also a key barrier to research use by nurses [12]. Lower levels of education have consistently been identified as an important barrier to research use across multiple studies [8,[13][14][15].…”