To create lasting collaborations, Al communities increasingly expect immediate, direct benefit from their participation in research. Promises of long-deferred gain, usually couched in terms of acquiring knowledge for the greater good of humankind, are seen as timewom and empty. Employment, access to career opportunities, advanced education, transfer of skills, and tangible services are the currency of modem-day research transactions in these communities. Native people also want to know the outcomes and implications of the scientific studies in which they participate. This expectation requires efforts well beyond the traditional practice of sending a copy of the final report to a local program or tribal council. The rural communities with which we propose to work expect multiple forms of active reporting and engagement, targeting a range of audiences. The stakeholders include program administrators, consumers, advocates, and government representatives. The pathways for dissemination include newsletters, newspaper articles, radio announcements, classroom presentations, district meetings, social networks, and the Internet. Done well, these efforts are time-consuming, labor-intensive, and expensive, but rewarding. Finally, research partnerships with Als entail mutual advocacy and bi-directional learning. Just as investigators seek local representatives to promote their agendas, Native and rural communities expect scientists to represent them in communicating study results to key decision- and policy-makers. Yet many investigators and institutions are uninformed, illequipped, inadequately supported, and even disinclined to address these expectations. Fortunately, our institutions have the expertise, commitment, and institutional and tribal partnerships to meet these demanding yet.entirely appropriate expectations. One of the greatest challenges to realizing the benefits of research designed to redress health disparities is the active dissemination and general adoption of findings.^ Sociological research has contributed to an understanding of these processes, underscoring the differences between diffusion, a passive concept, and dissemination, an active and more aggressive flow of information from the source to an intended audience.'^ This Core's strategies are fully consistent with the principles of dissemination theory, and they reflect, in part, our commitment to the active dissemination of practices and findings through a broad range of traditional and innovative media. In this regard, our connection with the Indigenous Information Research Group at UW will play an important and novel role. These strategies are more fully described in the next section and in each Research Project of the BHCRAIC.
