Sharing Findings

woman raising her hand

A fundamental feature of community-based participatory research (CBPR) is sharing findings with community members and engaging community members in the dissemination process.

  • Community members deserve access to the knowledge they have made possible through participation or other forms of engagement in a study.
  • Community dissemination allows providers to implement findings immediately and locally, potentially reducing the gap between research and practice.
  •  By fostering dialogue with those most affected by a given health issue, community dissemination aids in developing culturally relevant interventions.

Consider a story-telling format for your dissemination narrative

Planning:

  • Build community dissemination into project aims.
  • Obtain feedback from community partners and/or community members to disseminate your findings.
  • Look into opportunities to present your findings during standing meetings (e.g. community partners’ staff meetings).

Reaching out to community partners:

  • Designate a team member to coordinate dissemination outreach to ensure planned activities will take place.
  • Draw on established relationships.
    • Ideally, the research team should have established relationships with key community  leaders/representatives before the dissemination phase.
  • Conduct “pre-meetings” with community leaders/representatives. Work with community members to select findings for presentation.
    • Exploring the interests and expertise of likely attendees and identifying which findings fit those interests so that slides can be tailored.

Sharing Findings:

  • Make presentations interactive.
  • Share a personal story illustrating why this research is important to you.
    • Presenter can address mistrust at the beginning of the presentation by telling a story that conveyed why this area of research mattered personally.
  • Cultivate a receptive attitude toward criticism.

Ongoing Dialogue:

  • Follow up with one-on-one meetings.
  • Recognize the potential value of research findings for service providers.
  • Demonstrate that suggestions are integrated into further research or programs.

Sharing information with the general public:

Think about when, where and how you will share study results.

  • Include infographics and visuals for digestible data presentation
  • Use language that is between a 6th to 8th grade level
  • Use lay language, and avoid jargon or technical terms
  • Tailor your language and presentation to the target audience
    • Clear disaggregated data relevant to communities of focus
    • Language translation
    • Emphasize impact on people’s lives
    • Clear tie-in to current events or community priorities

Presentation Methods:

Some examples include:

  • Develop a newsletter to share with community organizations.
  • Share results with community partners.
  • Aldermen/alderwomen may be willing to share a short article with their constituents in their monthly newsletter.  See list of Chicago aldermen here.
  • Policy briefs
  • Media -press release e.g. template
    • Consider community media outlets, learn more here
  • Share report and/or Executive Summary

Note: You will need IRB approval to share findings with the community

Developing Content in Plain Language: 

Additional resources 

Need more information on community engaged research?  

Check out Duke University CTSI Resources

Recruitment materials: Trial Innovation Network Toolbox