Is it true that researchers tend to focus their dissemination efforts on policy makers, donors and fellow researchers? If it is true, then to what extent do researchers provide feedback to the communities where they conduct the research? Does it matter anyway?
Whereas dissemination of research results to study participants and the general public is an ethical obligation and a fundamental knowledge translation aspect, most dissemination efforts often do not go beyond scientific publications! Study participants and the general public-the people whom research aims to affect hardly access or benefit from the peer reviewed journals and scientific publications that are usually prioritized by most researchers. As a result, a lot of relevant knowledge that is generated through research remains unutilized and does not contribute meaningfully to improving health outcomes of the people.
Should researchers disseminate their findings to the communities?
With a big “of course” I would cite the following reasons to why study findings “must” be disseminated to the communities.
Preventing loss of knowledge:
A lot of information and knowledge has a tendency to stay where it is generated. Dissemination prevents knowledge from becoming ‘’sticky ‘’ and effectively lost over time.
Capacity Building
Dissemination fosters new capacities for addressing many kinds of community health issues. Through sharing and exchanging knowledge, more impactful projects can arise.
Adding value to research projects
Dissemination provides added value to research projects, as the impact of research can be potentially wider than the original focus.
Profiling the researchers and their organizations
Dissemination promotes the profile of not only the researchers but also their organizations and strengthens their research capacity.
Source: Westbrook, 1998, p.14
Avenues for disseminating study findings to communities
There are numerous avenues for disseminating research findings to communities including;
- Local events, seminars or conferences, community meetings-hosting or attending seminars, conferences, community forums and/or health fairs are common methods for informing others about research findings.
- Creating posters about research projects and findings offer a concise and visually appealing way to disseminate information to broad audiences. While these formats require extensive simplification of information due to limited space, much of the information created through the research process includes visuals like graphs and tables, which are particularly adaptable for these formats.
Although barriers such as time and resources constraints have been cited as major roadblocks to dissemination, factoring a dissemination plan early in proposal development could actually help researchers improve the chances of disseminating their research findings.
We would love to hear your views and comments on what else should be done to maximize the chance that research results lead to tangible, lasting health benefits for communities.
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please email the KTNET Africa secretariat at [email protected]
References
Share this Article..
To Post your Comments Securely, a quick, one-time sign-in/registration is needed below.