SESSION Seq #4: Knowledge Translation: How to Get Your Research to the People to Whom It Matters Most

Seq #4

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

2:15 PM-3:45 PM
Metro Toronto Convention Centre Room 718A, Symposium - Group/Division Sponsored

Knowledge Translation: How to Get Your Research to the People to Whom It Matters Most

Sponsored by: Behavioral Sciences, Cariology Research, Periodontal Research, Prosthodontics Research, EBDN

Description: Evidence provided by high quality research is essential to promote improvement in oral health and oral health care services. However, new knowledge itself does little to evoke change by decision makers, be they clinicians, administrators or policy makers. The British merchant navy, for example, took 263 years to introduce citrus juice as a routine prevention for scurvy following Lancaster’s first demonstration of its value in 1601. The disconnect between dissemination of research and implementation of the findings by decision-makers occurs, in part, because evidence must be considered in the context of its applicability and usefulness. “Knowledge Translation” (KT) is the term used by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to describe the process of putting research findings and the products of research into the hands of key audiences. It is an active exchange of information between the researchers who create new knowledge and those who use it, inspiring the “users” to think and/or act differently. KT strategies can help define research questions and hypotheses, select appropriate research methods, conduct the research itself, interpret and contextualize the research findings and apply the findings to resolve practical issues and problems. Speakers at this symposium will demonstrate the importance of uptake and implementation of new knowledge and outline strategies for planning future research, using examples of best practices. This symposium will be of interest to researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, administrators and policy makers.

Chairperson: D. MATTHEWS


			Introduction
			Collaborating with Decision-makers to Design Research Questions and Disseminate Findings M. MCNALLY, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada
			Crafting the Message and Disseminating the Research Results J. GRIMSHAW, Canadian Cochrane Centre, Ottawa, Canada
			Using "Evidence" to Affect Change in Clinical Practice S. RIGGS, Delta Dental Plan of Minnesota, Eagan, USA
	0004		Evaluating KT Programs J. CLARKSON, University of Dundee, United Kingdom
			Discussion D. MATTHEWS, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada

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