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Promoting knowledge translation through information and knowledge sharing: The case of molapo farming communities
Abstract
This study, guided by the diffusion of innovations theory, explored the communication patterns of flood
recession (molapo) farming communities in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, with a view to informing the knowledge translation interventions of the Botswana EcoHealth Project. A sample of 161 respondents from three different communities participated in this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results indicate that the molapo farming communities in the Okavango Delta: 1) have mass-media technologies, though limited to radio and television, 2) depend on radio and kgotla (public communal place) as a channel for agricultural and environmental related information, and 3) rarely use print media. The findings indicate that the most appropriate channels for information diffusion among the molapo communities are the use of group channel, the kgotla, and the radio, as the majority of the respondents indicated frequent use of these as information sources. Over half of the respondents demonstrated a general awareness of molapo farming potential to cause water-borne diseases. The implication of these findings for communicators and knowledge translation interventions is that wider communication intervention impacts among the molapo communities can be achieved through a use of radio and a hybrid of kgotla-workshops. Suggestions for future research directions are highlighted.
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EcoHealth is an emerging field that examines the complex relationships among humans, animals, and the environment, and how these relationships affect the health of each of these domains. The different types of determinants of health greatly influence human health and well-being. Therefore, EcoHealth’s ability to improve human, animal, and environmental health and well-being is, in part, influenced by its ability to acknowledge and integrate the determinants of health. However, our previous research demonstrates that the academic EcoHealth literature had a low, uneven engagement with the determinants of health. Accordingly, to make sense of this gap, our research aim is to better understand the views of a small subset of the Canadian EcoHealth community about EcoHealth and the determinants of health relative to EcoHealth. We used a qualitative research design involving seven semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Our findings suggest a tension across themes and a lack of conceptual engagement with the determinants of health. As we consider a future with rapid, unsustainable changes, we expect the identification and integration of the different types of determinants of health within EcoHealth to be imperative for EcoHealth to attain its goal of improving the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environment.
Community and stakeholder engagement (CSE) are central to conducting multicenter health research. Multicenter studies are, however, considerably more complex because they involve a geographically diverse pool of participants and researchers, making uniform application of CSE strategies difficult. This article describes a framework to achieve CSE based on the experiences of a conducting a multicenter study in Southern Africa. The CSE framework is divided into three phases: before research commences, during, and after the study. This CSE framework offers a practical step-by-step guide on the operational aspects of CSE in a multicenter study. The framework shows the importance of consistent monitoring and evaluation during implantation of CSE.
Community Engagement (CE) is intended to enhance the participation of community stakeholders in research. CE is usually mentioned in publications as researchers discuss how they carried out community entry, consent and retained study participants but the actual CE activities are not always well documented. This paper reviews CE strategies employed in health research in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe with reference to the development of a CE strategy for a multi-centre study to be conducted in these countries. The search was conducted using JANE (Journal/Author Name Estimator), Google Scholar and PubMed with known institutions and researchers providing context-specific material. The final synthesis includes 35 publications, 2 reports and 2 abstracts. There is evidence of CE being practiced in health research and eight closely related CE strategies were revealed. We conclude that since communities are heterogeneous and unique, CE activities will not have similar results in different settings. Even though there was insufficient evidence to determine which CE strategy is most effective, the review provides sufficient information to develop a CE strategy for a multi-centre study using the various strategies and activities described.
Organizations that want to create change through educational programs need to engage clients in a process that makes use of existing communication networks. Most clients use a repertoire of sources and channels for becoming aware of, learning about, and making decisions about practice or technology adoption. This paper focuses on one group of clients served by Cooperative Extension— horse owners—to identify patterns in the sources and channels of information they use. Further, the association between sets of channels and sources is assessed, controlling for relevant client attributes. The results show that horse owners have four correlated sets of information sources and four sets of information channels. The net influence of channels on clients' use of sources varies, with traditional Extension channels, one-on-one consultations, and Internet channels being strongly associated with the use of sources characterized by linkages outside the community. Overall, the results suggest that horse owners can be sorted into distinct market segments that use specific sources and channels. These findings can guide the design of communication strategies for Extension professionals serving adult horse owners in Florida, as well as provide general rules for others involved in developing educational programs for other clients.
An effective response to global environmental challenges requires analysis of communication patterns, processes and approaches. In addition, improving communication through emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) also must be explored. Understanding recipients’ perception of the innovations used in information diffusion is also necessary. This study, using a sample of 120 subjects, examined attitudes of leaders of community-based natural resources organizations toward two approaches used in public instructional communication in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. The quasi-experimental study also explored the effect of demographic variables on subjects’ attitudes. The results demonstrated more favorable attitudes toward the visualized method than the traditional verbal method, suggesting subjects’ preference and acceptance for the visualized public instructional communication approaches. Results also indicated a differential effect of age on attitude toward methods of communication. The results of the study highlight the importance for practitioners to use integrated communication approaches in the public sphere. Suggestions for future research are offered
This report contains the findings of a committee charged with reviewing the HIPAA privacy rule and its impact on health research. The committee found that the rule does not adequately protect the privacy of people’s personal health information and hinders important health research. It recommends that Congress authorize the development of an entirely new approach to protecting personal health information in research that applies privacy, data security, and accountability standards uniformly to information used in all health-related research regardless of who funds or conducts it.
sion to adopt an innovation. The framework groups the variables into three major components. The first component includes characteristics of the innovation itself, within which two sets of variables are defined concerning public versus private con- sequences and benefits versus costs of adoption. A second component involves the characteristics of innovators (actors) that influence the probability of adoption of an innovation. Within this component six sets of variables concern societal entity of innovators (either people, organizations, states, etc.), familiarity with the innova- tion, status characteristics, socioeconomic characteristics, position in social networks, andpersonalqualities.Thethirdcomponentinvolvescharacteristicsoftheenvironmen- tal context that modulate diffusion via structural characteristics of the modern world. These latter characteristics incorporate four sets of variables: geographical settings, societal culture, political conditions, and global uniformity. The concluding analysis highlights the need in diffusion research to incorporate more fully (a) the interactive character of diffusion variables, (b) the gating function of diffusion variables, and (c) effects of an actor's characteristics on the temporal rate of diffusion.
One of the most consistent findings from clinical and health services research is the failure to translate research into practice and policy. As a result of these evidence-practice and policy gaps, patients fail to benefit optimally from advances in healthcare and are exposed to unnecessary risks of iatrogenic harms, and healthcare systems are exposed to unnecessary expenditure resulting in significant opportunity costs. Over the last decade, there has been increasing international policy and research attention on how to reduce the evidence-practice and policy gap. In this paper, we summarise the current concepts and evidence to guide knowledge translation activities, defined as T2 research (the translation of new clinical knowledge into improved health). We structure the article around five key questions: what should be transferred; to whom should research knowledge be transferred; by whom should research knowledge be transferred; how should research knowledge be transferred; and, with what effect should research knowledge be transferred?
We suggest that the basic unit of knowledge translation should usually be up-to-date systematic reviews or other syntheses of research findings. Knowledge translators need to identify the key messages for different target audiences and to fashion these in language and knowledge translation products that are easily assimilated by different audiences. The relative importance of knowledge translation to different target audiences will vary by the type of research and appropriate endpoints of knowledge translation may vary across different stakeholder groups. There are a large number of planned knowledge translation models, derived from different disciplinary, contextual (i.e., setting), and target audience viewpoints. Most of these suggest that planned knowledge translation for healthcare professionals and consumers is more likely to be successful if the choice of knowledge translation strategy is informed by an assessment of the likely barriers and facilitators. Although our evidence on the likely effectiveness of different strategies to overcome specific barriers remains incomplete, there is a range of informative systematic reviews of interventions aimed at healthcare professionals and consumers (i.e., patients, family members, and informal carers) and of factors important to research use by policy makers.
There is a substantial (if incomplete) evidence base to guide choice of knowledge translation activities targeting healthcare professionals and consumers. The evidence base on the effects of different knowledge translation approaches targeting healthcare policy makers and senior managers is much weaker but there are a profusion of innovative approaches that warrant further evaluation.
Legislators and their scientific beneficiaries express growing concerns that the fruits of their investment in health research are not reaching the public, policy makers, and practitioners with evidence-based practices. Practitioners and the public lament the lack of relevance and fit of evidence that reaches them and barriers to their implementation of it. Much has been written about this gap in medicine, much less in public health. We review the concepts that have guided or misguided public health in their attempts to bridge science and practice through dissemination and implementation. Beginning with diffusion theory, which inspired much of public health's work on dissemination, we compare diffusion, dissemination, and implementation with related notions that have served other fields in bridging science and practice. Finally, we suggest ways to blend diffusion with other theory and evidence in guiding a more decentralized approach to dissemination and implementation in public health, including changes in the ways we produce the science itself.
A study was conducted to examine beef cattle producers currently being served by University of Florida IFAS Extension Agents located in county Extension offices of Northwest Florida. This article focuses on the cattle producers' preferences for sources and channels of information. The data show that five combinations of information sources and channels are used by beef cattle producers. The findings can guide education program efforts in the future to better serve the Extension clientele of Northwest Florida.
Improving people’s health, while promoting thriving, resilient communities and environmental sustainability, is one of the great development challenges for the twenty-first century. This book is about how a growing international field of research, education, and practice called ecohealth is tackling this challenge, and using innovative ideas to build healthier communities and environments in developing countries.
The study explored environmental communication strategies within the Okavango Delta, northwest Botswana. A survey instrument was administered to 120 respondents, randomly sampled across four villages. The findings show that respondents obtain environmental conservation information from diverse source organizations. Agencies use a multimix approach that utilizes different channels of communication, such as mass media and group channels. Statistically significant associations were found among the radio audience by education and among the television audience by age, education, and gender; and no statistically significance association was found between the kgotla group channel and the three demographic variables. Findings suggest that the interventions have promoted proenvironmental behaviors and attitudes among the respondents. Implications for environmental communication practice and directions for future research are discussed.
Improved technologies and innovations are essential to support increased productivity of natural resources in watershed management. Many research and development programmes and projects on natural resources management (NRM) have been conducted in Tanzania to address problems of declining natural resource productivity. Due to the nature of interventions in NRM, it often takes a long time for significant and appreciable change and impact on livelihoods to happen. This is because few of the recommendations from NRM research have been put into use by the target end users. Lack of an enabling policy environment is one of the major causes for non-adoption. This is attributed to inadequacy in communicating research findings by researchers to stakeholders other than farmers. A study was conducted to better understand the research and communication processes, barriers and efficacy of various communication methods and media used for various stakeholders across a range of levels and research for development sectors. Results showed that most research projects do not have communication plans for ensuring uptake of findings by other stakeholders such as policy makers, input suppliers, traders and manufacturers. Much of the resources for research are allocated to conducting field-work rather than production and dissemination of knowledge-sharing products. The study proposes that research projects should include communication strategies to ensure that research findings are well communicated to the targeted stakeholders in order to influence decision-making and resource allocation, to enhance utilisation of improved technologies. Improvement in research design is envisaged to improve the impact of research on the livelihoods of the poor and increase environmental benefits in the watershed.
Gives a synopsis of the ways of disseminating environmental information in rural areas in Botswana. Nata village, a rural community in Botswana was used as a case study. The study employed a questionnaire survey to identify the various ways of disseminating environmental information and the barriers to its free flow to the rural populace. The barriers identified are: poor attendance to tribal gatherings, low coverage of environmental information by the mass media and poor level of community participation in rural projects. The study concludes by making recommendations on how the flow of environmental information could be improved. Some suggestions for further investigation are identified.
In Wisconsin, nonpoint source pollution has been identified as the greatest cause of water quality degradation affecting over 75% of inland lakes, many of the harbors and coastal waters on the Great Lakes, and substantial groundwater resources. The majority of this problem is attributed to agricultural land use. Pervasive water quality problems are the symptom - the primary cause being the failure to implement existing remedial technologies. Although education is often a major part of watershed protection programs, education strategies vary greatly from project to project and from educator to educator. Educational programming, often referred to as information and education (I&E) strategies, provides information to landowners in order to promote environmentally beneficial actions such as the installation of best management practices on farms. Prior research in Wisconsin's Priority Watershed Program has shown that I&E strategies, especially those that seek to reduce nonpoint source pollution from agriculture, generally rely on a combination of two approaches: 1. Diffuse communication campaign efforts; 2. One-on-one information transfer techniques such as on-farm visits, individual farm trials, and individual farmer consultation. To assess the effectiveness of these two approaches, this research compares the rate of adoption of nutrient management strategies by farmers in two different Wisconsin watersheds over the same five-year period of 1990 to 1995. This research supports an integration of a diverse set of educational approaches such as on-farm visits, and small group demonstrations, and workshops. An over-reliance on diffuse information dissemination may come at the expense of interpersonal information transfer through direct farmer contact.1
This literature review of studies on public meetings, workshops, and community advisory committees discusses public participation based on empirical evidence. Public participation “success” is defined by researchers' criteria that are divided into two categories: (1) those that evaluate the success of the participatory process and (2) those that evaluate the success of the outcome of the process. We find the form of participationpublic meetings, workshops, or citizen advisory committeesdoes not determine process or outcome success. Therefore, attempts to develop a typology of public participation efforts may be problematic. However, we find some empirical support for practitioners' other widely accepted “rules of thumb”.
Analysis of the pathways by which research outputs come to the attention of potential users, and of factors which influence uptake, requires selection of an appropriate analytical framework and set of indicators. The main factor influencing uptake by users, is the relevance to them of the research output itself. Relevance is not inherent in the research output, but a function of specific contextual factors. In addition the features of the research process and the ‘target’ have a bearing on uptake by intermediate users. Six analytical frameworks are briefly presented and compared. Models of the technology development process suggest questions about the nature and efficiency of linkages between the different elements of the process. Models of information processes focus on the fact that information is not simply passed on but is continually being transformed and adapted through communication. Models of the research management process suggest that the main determinant of relevance is the care and collaboration with which research goals are determined and research implementation is monitored and managed. Systems models allow us to move away from unilinear conceptions of technology development, and can deal more effectively with the diversity of information sources and channels available to potential users. This is also true of the multiple source of innovations and ‘farmer first’ models. Each framework has its uses and limitations: for any particular study, it is important to select one that is most suited to the type of research output and the particular issues under consideration. A wide range of socio-economic research methods have been used to explore promotion and uptake issues. Standard sample survey methods have limitations and alternatives are suggested. Publication, face-to-face interaction and electronic communication are the main pathways for promotion to fellow scientists. Long term relationships between collaborating institutions, and stability in research team composition, are factors in effective promotion at this level. Access to scientific publications in developing country research institutions is seen as a major constraint. Much is already known about the effectiveness of extension and communication methods among end users. There is undoubtedly a lot of untapped potential in the emerging communication technologies for low cost, effective access to agricultural information. The paper ends by suggesting a number of areas for future research on promotion and uptake.
This research examines farmers’ use of various sources and channels of conservation information in three midwestern US watersheds. A primary objective was to determine perceptual and farm structure factors influencing the use of particular information sources for farm-level decision-making. Data were collected from 1011 farm operators, the Maquoketa River watershed in east-central Iowa, the Lower Minnesota River watershed in southeast Minnesota, and the Darby Creek watershed in central Ohio. Respondents were asked to indicate frequency of use for 22 sources of conservation information identified from the literature and to rank the perceived importance of 11 of the most common communication channels for accessing agricultural information. Factor analysis was used to reduce the number of information sources to a smaller set of variables that explained much of the variance of the original data set. Selected elements of diffusion, risk communication, and farm structure theories were used to interpret the factor loadings and to identify predictors of information use. Regression analysis was used to test the communication source models developed for the overall data set and for each state. Descriptive findings revealed that farmers use multiple sources and channels when accessing soil and water conservation information. Substantial differences in information-use patterns were noted among the study watersheds. The results of the factor analysis showed that the 22 information sources could be categorized into six overarching groups based on their intercorrelation. The regression models were shown to vary widely in their predictive capacity, explaining from 1 to 29% of the total variance in source use. The variability noted among farmers’ information-use patterns and perceptions across the three study areas casts doubt on the value of broad-based or “shotgun” approaches for delivering agricultural information. The use of factor analysis has promise in future studies as a valuable tool for developing empirical measures of information use and improving measurement of key theoretical constructs in agricultural communication.
Both the Okavango River Panhandle Management Plan (ORPMP) and the Okavango Delta Management Plan (ODMP) represent attempts at different times by different environmental resources management authorities to tackle issues of environmental degradation, growing pressure on land and water resources of the Okavango Delta as well as conflict over management and use of the resources. This paper reviews the two plans with a view to find out if the conceptual framework they follow would have a bearing on their implementabilty. It is concluded that both plans have implementation challenges. The ORPMP fails to be implemented for rather conventional reasons such as lack of stakeholder involvement. The ODMP on the other hand was developed following an integrated water resources planning concept. However, implementing of this plan in an integrated manner is problematic due to centralized and not integrated national planning, adoption of a sectoral approach by government agencies, and low capacity of the relevant local authorities for integrated management of resources.
This study is concerned with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and economic growth across the world for the period 1991?2001. This article produces fresh empirical evidence on the relation between FDI and economic growth obtained from single-equation and simultaneous-equation estimates for 140 countries using macroeconomic variables. The results indicate that a positive and statistically significant estimate of coefficient of FDI is obtained from single-equation ordinary least squares method for real per capita GDP regressions in all but one case. There exists a positive and statistically significant relation between the real per capita GDP and FDI in the case of many countries but correlation coefficient between exports-GDP ratio and percentage FDI is found to be insignificant. Country risk rating and the telecommunications variables are significant in all the relevant regressions and correlation estimates.
This review summarizes key factors that have interfered with translation of research to practice and what public health researchers can do to hasten such transfer, focusing on characteristics of interventions, target settings, and research designs. The need to address context and to utilize research, review, and reporting practices that address external validity issues—such as designs that focus on replication, and practical clinical and behavioral trials—are emphasized.
Although there has been increased emphasis on social-ecological interventions that go beyond the individual level, interventions often address each component as if it were an independent intervention. Greater attention is needed to connectedness across program levels and components. Finally, examples are provided of evaluation models and current programs that can help accelerate translation of research to practice and policy.
The purpose of this study was to identify decision-makers' preferences for the transfer and exchange of research knowledge. This article is focused on how the participants define evidence-based decision-making and their preferences for receiving research evidence to integrate into the decision-making process.
Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 Ontario public health decision-makers from six Ontario public health units in this fundamental qualitative descriptive study. The sample included nine program managers, six directors, and one Medical Officer of Health. Participants were asked to define the term evidence-based decision-making and identify preferred research dissemination strategies. The interviews were audio-taped, transcribed verbatim, and coded for emerging concepts.
Participants defined evidence-based decision-making as a process whereby multiple sources of information were consulted before making a decision concerning the provision of services. To facilitate integration of research evidence into the decision-making process, public health administrators appreciate receiving, in both electronic and hard copy, systematic reviews, executive summaries of research, and clear statements of implications for practice from health service researchers.
Although consensus exists among participants concerning the definition of evidence based public health decision-making, ongoing efforts are required to continue to promote the use of research evidence in program planning and public health policy. It is also important to continue to improve the ease with which public health decision-makers access systematic reviews, as well as to ensure the relevance and applicability of the results to the practice setting.
Recently, renewed attention has been drawn to the gap between research and practice in disciplines within schools of public health. This article addresses the research-practice gap within healthcare management, a key discipline in schools of public health. Barriers and solutions are presented across four stages for converting research to practice-discovery, translation, dissemination, and change. Foremost barriers include low credibility of academic research, inadequate research dissemination, neglect of practitioner concerns, and lack of external pressures for adopting researched practices. Key solutions include educating practitioners about research, collaborative studies with practitioners, adapting research to practitioner needs, and holding organizations accountable for adopting evidence-based change.
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