Abstract A35: Challenges to disseminating evidence-based research in real-world settings: Training African American peers as patient navigators for colon cancer screening

Many cancer prevention researchers have developed successful behavior change interventions. There remains, however, a considerable gap in the continuum of diffusion and dissemination of evidence-based research to practice settings (See Ellis, Robinson, Ciliska, et al., 2003). The process of disseminating research to practice is often discussed in conceptual terms, but the reality of applying this to practice is usually difficult, very complex and time consuming. In recent years, more attention has been devoted to discussing the dissemination process, but few publications explicitly describe what this process may look like, especially challenges that researchers are likely to face, how to address them, and how long the entire process takes. This is a serious problem because “…the failure to transfer new, evidence-based findings into widespread delivery limits the impact of [advancing] cancer control research” (p. 1; Ellis, Robinson, Ciliska, et al., 2003). Thus, this poster presents a timeline of events in the dissemination of an evidence-based peer patient navigation training program into a large, city hospital. Our peer patient navigation training dissemination approach was based on the Push-Pull Model, which includes 3 levels of translation: scientific push (empirically validated intervention), delivery capacity (i.e. peer training but also hospital system capacity) and market pull/demand (i.e. is there a real need for peer PN for colonoscopy?). We are currently working with two large hospitals in the New York City area and have trained six African American peers as patient navigators. Presently, we are recruiting patients for the project, with a target of 800 total participants throughout the study. Some of the major challenges our project has encountered include: 1) operating within multiple institutional settings’ and their differing procedures and policies (i.e. IRB approval process is very long, hospital volunteer training); 2) obtaining the support of hospital staff without overburdening them with additional responsibilities, 3) integrating the peer navigators into the hospitals’ established navigation system and 4) competing time commitments of patient-focused medical professionals working within a practice setting (i.e., limited time available to dedicate to research activities). Based on these challenges, we offer the following recommendations for researchers attempting to disseminate evidence-based research into practice: 1) determine collaborators early on and involve them in proposal development and planning, 2) include hospital staff in proposal development whenever possible and consider including incentives for staff participation and 3) begin the IRB process as soon as possible, as it often takes longer for research studies to be approved in hospital settings. Bridging the gap between evidence-based research and practice is critical to eliminating many cancer health disparities; therefore, it is crucial that researchers and practitioners continue to work to achieve both diffusion and fusion of evidence-based findings. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):A35.