IKT Guiding Principles: demonstration of diffusion and dissemination in partnership

Alanna Shwed^{1

2}, Femke Hoekstra^{3

4}, DivyaKanwar Bhati³, Peter Athanasopoulos⁵, John Chernesky⁶, Kathleen Martin Ginis^{3

4}, Christopher B McBride⁷, W Ben Mortenson^{4

8

9}, Kathryn M Sibley¹⁰, Shane N Sweet¹¹; SCI Guiding Principles Panel; Heather L Gainforth^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada. alanna.shwed@ubc.ca.
² International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. alanna.shwed@ubc.ca.
³ School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
⁴ International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁵ Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁷ Spinal Cord Injury British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁸ Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁹ Rehabilitation Research Program, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
¹⁰ Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

PMID: 37438787
PMCID: PMC10337125
DOI: 10.1186/s40900-023-00462-1

IKT Guiding Principles: demonstration of diffusion and dissemination in partnership

Alanna Shwed et al. Res Involv Engagem. 2023.

. 2023 Jul 12;9(1):53.

doi: 10.1186/s40900-023-00462-1.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada. alanna.shwed@ubc.ca.
² International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. alanna.shwed@ubc.ca.
³ School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
⁴ International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (ICORD), University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁵ Spinal Cord Injury Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁷ Spinal Cord Injury British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁸ Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
⁹ Rehabilitation Research Program, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
¹⁰ Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
¹¹ Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

PMID: 37438787
PMCID: PMC10337125
DOI: 10.1186/s40900-023-00462-1

Abstract

Introduction: Integrated knowledge translation (IKT) is a partnered approach to research that aims to ensure research findings are applied in practice and policy. IKT can be used during diffusion and dissemination of research findings. However, there is a lack of understanding how an IKT approach can support the diffusion and dissemination of research findings. In this study, we documented and described the processes and outcomes of an IKT approach to diffusing and disseminating the findings of consensus recommendations for conducting spinal cord injury research.

Methods: Communication of the IKT Guiding Principles in two phases: a diffusion phase during the first 102 days from the manuscript's publication, followed by a 1147 day active dissemination phase. A record of all inputs was kept and all activities were tracked by monitoring partnership communication, a partnership tracking survey, a project curriculum vitae, and team emails. Awareness outcomes were tracked through Google Analytics and a citation-forward search. Awareness includes the website accesses, the number of downloads, and the number of citations in the 29 month period following publication.

Results: In the diffusion period, the recommendations were viewed 60 times from 4 different countries, and 4 new downloads. In the dissemination period, the recommendations were viewed 1109 times from 39 different countries, 386 new downloads, and 54 citations. Overall, during dissemination there was a 17.5% increase in new visitors to the website a month and a 95.5% increase in downloads compared to diffusion.

Conclusion: This project provides an overview of an IKT approach to diffusion and dissemination. Overall, IKT may be helpful for increasing awareness of research findings faster; however, more research is needed to understand best practices and the the impact of an IKT approach on the diffusion and dissemination versus a non-partnered approach.

Keywords: Dissemination; Implementation science; Integrated knowledge translation; Knowledge mobilization; Research co-creation; Research partnership.

Plain language summary

Often, research findings do not get to the people, groups, and/or institutions who could benefit from the findings. Two ways to help move research into practice more efficiently are to: (1) work in partnership with people who may benefit most from the research findings, and (2) share and communicate the findings of research beyond scientists. However, little is known about how to work in partnership while sharing the results of a research study. Therefore, this project demonstrates how a research partnership can work while promoting the results of their research project. Overall, working in partnership while sharing research findings may further help to ensure the research results are shared with those who could benefit from those findings.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Outputs from disseminating the IKT Guiding Principles

**Fig. 2**
Awareness of the IKT Guiding Principles

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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IKT Guiding Principles: demonstration of diffusion and dissemination in partnership

Affiliations

IKT Guiding Principles: demonstration of diffusion and dissemination in partnership

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Plain language summary

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources