Health services research is an important tool used to inform a range of decisions about structure, financing, quality and access to health care. Underscoring this point, the Coalition for Health Services Research notes that “Health services research when appropriately funded, coordinated and disseminated plays a critical role in addressing problems related to the nations’ health care system” (Academy of Health, 2005, p.1). Specific to rural health care, there is a growing body of knowledge generated by researchers that explicitly focuses on better understanding challenges facing rural health care delivery. To maximize the contribution of this body of knowledge, a toolkit of useful approaches is needed that can be used to inform a range of important audiences, from local rural hospital administrators to federal policy makers. This project focuses on the development of such a toolkit that may be used by rural health researchers to extend the reach and impact of important findings. This includes examining innovative strategies and tools for designing interventions to reach different target audiences and to promote knowledge driven rural health policies and programs. Connoting this function, this initiative is titled the Rural Health Research Gateway and has the following objectives:
Optimize the impact of research data from the Rural Health Research Centers (RHRCs) (and, as feasible, other ORHP grantees) on policies, programs and practice.
Optimize communication between RHRCs and target audiences.
Measure the impact of project efforts on objectives 1 and 2.
Research indicates that multiple communication channels should be used to reach specific audience segments with information and that communication campaigns benefit from rigorous formative research and evaluation of outcomes (Healthy People 2010). The approach to maximize communication of rural health research incorporates some of the key elements advocated in the Healthy People 2010 report. For example, through audience testing (i.e., working with “Issues Groups” representing national, state and local audiences, the Rural Health Research Gateway is obtaining information in order to develop and disseminate effective communication strategies. Additionally, the Rural Health Research Gateway uses the Healthy People 2010 strategy of creating databases to catalog research studies and partner with existing dissemination networks to make data publicly available.
Another initiative that informs the structure of the Rural Health Research Gateway is the Framework for Knowledge Transfer (FKT) developed by Carpenter et al (2005). This framework recognizes that the dissemination and implementation of research findings are complex processes requiring multiple methods and tools. The framework includes three major processes; knowledge creation and distillation, mass diffusion and targeted dissemination, and organizational adaptation and use. The plan embedded in the FKT and adapted for the Rural Health Research Gateway includes six major elements:
Research findings and products
End users
Dissemination partners
Communication
Evaluation
Dissemination work plan
Consistent with the FKT, the purpose of the Gateway toolkit is to guide researchers to plan for dissemination as a key component of initial research designs, culminating in the application of findings by end users. It is also designed to establish direct links with diverse target audiences.
