Dissemination of Cancer Survivorship Research: Meeting Summary

Discussion Questions

3. What facilitates/promotes research dissemination?

• Cost: Interventions need to have a reasonable cost-benefit ratio.
  
  
• Documentation: Effective interventions with comprehensive protocols need to be standardized and documented so that they are transportable and replicable.
  
  
• Ease of Use: Interventions must be easy to implement and update; that includes not requiring practitioners to make a significant reconfiguration of their operating procedures.
  
  
• Economic Feasibility: The demonstration of administrative outcomes for providers (e.g. reducing burden/fewer phone calls etc.) or 3rd party billing agents may help facilitate adoption of interventions or programs.
  
  
• Endorsement: Leading agencies or organizations could help with acceptance among all groups (e.g. Most studies show that clinical practice guidelines are what are integrated into standard practice. Research findings need to be integrated into guidelines).
  
  
• Low Maintenance: Interventions should be relatively self-contained and require limited need for skill and training to deliver.
  
  
• Outcomes: There must be congruence between the problem addressed and the interest of clinicians and survivor populations. Clinicians as well as the target population must perceive the potential benefits resulting from the intervention.
  
  
• Partners: Organizational support and patient and clinician buy-in at the inception of the study is likely to stimulate the dissemination process. Broader involvement is more likely to result in asking questions that the end users want answered; produce systems that are capable of being rolled out into more general practice; and increase the buy-in for those changes in practice.
  
  
• Study Design: Interventions need to be generalizable which requires testing with diverse groups, and should not exclude co-morbid populations. Additionally, resources should be included in studies up front to increase focus on implementation (e.g. link research teams and dissemination settings through organization of the research).
  
  
• Survivor Interest: Patient advocacy drives better pain control through policy changes. This lesson can be applied elsewhere.
  
  
• Web Access: Advanced technology allows for more flexible modes of delivery (e.g. Web-based).