Preparing for and Disseminating Study Results

Overview

This session will cover how to:

• Develop and implement a dissemination plan• Correctly time the release of information and results to

various stakeholders• Plan for various outcomes• Orchestrate the public announcement of results• Plan post-dissemination activities

Dissemination Planning

• Carefully planned dissemination of results is increasingly recognized as essential to the research process.

• Planning for dissemination should begin months before the results are known.

• Advocates, members of community advisory boards (CABs) and trial participants can help shape messages and dissemination strategies.

Dissemination Activities Package

• Information sharing with participants, CAB and staff members

• Formal notification to ethics committees, ministries of health, regulators, government officials and sponsors

• Outreach to community leaders and those involved in related trials

• Distribution of results summaries to trial stakeholders

• Journal publications and presentations at conferences

Constructing your Dissemination Plan• Consider your initial

communications strategy.

• Establish a team and determine how decisions will be made.

• Discuss how you will release results and draft a dissemination plan.

• Ensure that each site has a tailored plan.

• Decide how to inform study participants.

Considerations for Off-Site Communicators

• Involve staff at trial sites early in the process so they can adjust time and work plans accordingly.

• If resources allow, provide:– Tailored technical assistance– Materials that can be

adapted for local site use– Support to local advocacy

groups to adapt materials – Assistance to partners in

dissemination planning– Case studies

Updating Messages and Materials

Timing is Everything!

• Develop a detailed (and flexible) timeline to assist with results dissemination.

• Work backwards from the release date.

• Allow time for input between sponsors and networks.

• Allow time for adaptation and translation of materials.

• Account for staff attrition and close of study budgets.

• Monitor journal and conference submission deadlines.

Releasing Results

• Participants should be informed as close to the public announcement as possible.

• Confidentiality issues will affect the timing of releases. Honor embargoes.

• Consider time zones, Daylight Savings Time (U.S.) or British Summer Time (U.K.), government holidays and international events.

• Try to anticipate factors that might affect your announcement strategy.

Planning for Various Outcomes

• Anticipate positive, neutral and negative scenarios, and describe the implications of each.

• How will each scenario change your announcement strategy?

• Develop key messages and background materials for all possible scenarios.

– An internal Q&A is a great tool for messaging.

Recommendations for Background Materials

• Backgrounder that summarizes main findings

• Fact sheets targeted to specific audiences

• Press release• External Q&A• Flyers, posters and

brochures• Letter of thanks to trial

participants• Trial newsletter

Managing Embargoes and Pre-Release

• Are confidentiality agreements needed?

• Who needs to know what? When? How? Categorize your stakeholders by when they must receive results.

• Carefully plan media embargoes and the timing of your press releases.

• Learn the embargo policies of prospective conferences and publications.

• Always include multiple time zones in press release.

Orchestrating the Public Announcement

• In-country communications firms can tap local networks and contacts.

– Close coordination is required to ensure consistent messaging to local opinion leaders and stakeholders.

• Use the announcement to celebrate participants, staff, partners and stakeholders.

— A local event can help accomplish this goal.

• Monitor media coverage so you can quickly correct any mistakes.

Approaches to Stakeholder Notification

Certain stakeholders require different treatment.

• Policymakers and government: face-to-face meetings are an important form of contact.

• Politicians are busy; provide summaries of long materials.• Participants: Community forums, newsletters, thank you

letters or text messages are appropriate for sharing results.• Community members: open meetings• Advocacy networks: conference calls or listserv communications

Giving Trial Participants a Voice

• Work with your IRB to develop a policy for allowing participants to engage with the media.

• Develop a procedure for selecting potential trial participants spokespeople.

• Share with you IRB examples of past successful experiences.

• Explain the downside of not involving participants in media interviews.

– Journalists may talk to ill-informed or disgruntled participants instead.

Post-Announcement Dissemination Activities

• Depending on results, activities may continue for months after the trial closes.

• Media monitoring should continue beyond the trial closure.

• Research results should be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Promoting the Use of Research Results

• Involve key stakeholders in dissemination.

– Enlist allies trusted by their peers

• Highlight the implications of your findings for practice.

• Take advantage of simple ways to increase your reach.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga generates interest by attending an event about male circumcision for HIV prevention.

Summary

• Your dissemination plan should be guided by lessons learned in implementing your communications plan.

• Scenario planning reduces the risk that you will be unprepared to address the implications of study results.

• Disseminating study results and their implications for practice helps promote application of the findings.

• The time during and after results dissemination should be used to expand networks and establish lasting relationships with key contacts in your field and in related disciplines.

For More Information

• publications@fhi360.org