INFORMATION DISSEMINATION CORE ABSTRACT Health research benefits patients and communities only if scientists and health professionals can find effective ways to communicate new findings across community and clinical settings. The strategies of the Information Dissemination Core of the Native Center for Alcohol Research and Education (NCARE) reflect our commitment to using both innovative and traditional channels to disseminate information and interventions on alcohol use disorders (AUDs) to American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Our collaborations with community and institutional partners, along with more than 20 years of engagement and research in Native communities, significantly enhance our ability to disseminate new knowledge and new approaches to managing and eliminating AUDs. This Core will examine how health information is consumed in Native communities, including those in geographically isolated areas, and pilot-test new ways to disseminate health information and research findings. Our overarching goal is to facilitate the exchange of beneficial knowledge, practices, and ideas relevant to AUDs, and to broaden their uptake by local, regional, and national tribal partners and academic stakeholders. NCARE will be housed within Partnerships for Native Health, a research program at Washington State University. We will also work closely with NCARE investigators at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Washington to disseminate our research on AUDs and related health inequities.
Our Specific Aims are to: 1) Disseminate the results of NCARE Research Projects and Pilot Projects to AI/AN communities by using innovative, culturally-congruent strategies that will contribute to building new community capacity for prevention and treatment. Dissemination efforts will be tailored to specific community audiences: healthcare providers, policy-makers, and lay people; 2) Disseminate the results of NCARE research to the scientific community to encourage new research collaborations between AI/AN communities and researchers; 3) Conduct needs assessments in partnership with AI/AN communities to identify local AUD priorities, and then connect interested communities with NCARE researchers who can provide education and technical assistance that address those priorities; and 4) Disseminate information to educational institutions, the media, and the public on NCARE?s work and on externally-sponsored activities pertinent to NCARE?s goals, including training, education, funding, and technical support. Effective health communication must provide accurate information on AUDs; help people make informed choices regarding significant health risks; update providers on best practices regarding AUDs in AI/ANs; help providers become better communicators; and use proven strategies to disseminate research results on AUDs to Native people and to researchers equipped to partner with communities to address their most pressing needs.
