Abstract
Extensive resources are invested in the production of research with the anticipation that relevant findings will be understood and utilized by decision-makers to inform practice and policy. It is well documented though that a gap exists between research production and research utilization in decision-making at clinical, administrative and policy levels. With increasing demands for accountability and the delivery of cost-effective services, evidence-informed decision-making is gaining greater attention within the fields of child health and welfare. Increasingly, researchers are encouraged to develop interactive strategies for research dissemination and knowledge transfer to different stakeholder groups. Lavis et al. (The Millbank Quarterly 81:221–248 2003a, Journal of Health Services Research & Policy 8:165–170 2003b) have developed a theoretical framework for knowledge transfer and exchange and concepts from this model were adopted to develop the dissemination strategy for the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect—2003. The objectives of this report are: 1) to describe the process of applying a theoretical model for knowledge transfer for the development of a dissemination strategy for Canada’s national child maltreatment surveillance data, including a discuss of strategies for developing key messages, selecting target audiences and identifying appropriate knowledge transfer and exchange strategies and; 2) to review lessons learned and provide recommendations for how researchers can enhance their knowledge transfer and exchange strategies to promote the uptake and utilization of their research findings.
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Acknowledgments
During the development of the dissemination plan, Dr. Susan Jack was supported by a post doctoral fellowship from the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation. We would like to acknowledge the support received from Dr. Anne Marie Ugnat and Dr. Catherine McCourt, Injury and Child Maltreatment Section, Public Health Agency of Canada and Dr. Harriet MacMillan, Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University. This work would not have been possible without the vision of Peter Dudding, Child Welfare League of Canada, Dr. Nico Trocmé and the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect—2003 Research Team and the collaborative relationships established with the Provincial/Territorial Directors of Child Welfare.
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Jack, S., Tonmyr, L. Knowledge Transfer and Exchange: Disseminating Canadian Child Maltreatment Surveillance Findings to Decision Makers. Child Ind Res 1, 51–64 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-007-9001-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-007-9001-3