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2009 IHP Annual Report
1.
2. Our primary mission:
to translate public health research
into evidence-based policies and programs
to enhance the health of communities.
2 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
3. TableofContents
Looking Back at 2009 5
KTExchange.org Becomes a Reality 6
SBIRT: Saving Lives, Time, Money 8
Exercise, Academics: PASS & CATCH Lead the Way 10
It’s a Wired World 12
Identifying Our 2010 Topics 13
Investigating the Health of Houston 14
Sharing Our Expertise 16
Looking Forward to 2010 19
Appendices 21
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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4. LookingBackat2009
4 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
5. This past year, Research Into Action advanced the craft and science of knowledge translation
(KT) in three principal ways: through our practical translation activity, in modeling and protocol
refinement, and by building new infrastructure for professionals in the field.
Our translation activity involved two separate initiatives – PAss & CATCH, and screening, Brief
Intervention and Referral to Treatment – that are grounded in different scientific fields and
directed toward very different audiences.
In the first case, our potential adopters were school administrators. Our challenge was to bring
new evidence on the link between physical activity and academic achievement to local school
decision-makers, who in turn could introduce it into their grade-school curricula. We partnered
with a key scientist in the school health field and matched her involvement with a new model for
linking message content to factors that influence adoption. Our first phase in Texas is complete,
and evaluation is underway. Following publication of the latest results, we will be taking our
messages nationwide with the guidance and support of the U.s. Centers for Disease Control.
Our second KT case involves research directed at operations in hospital emergency rooms.
The research shows a dramatic improvement in outcomes and reduction in return visits when
screening for alcohol and substance abuse is accompanied by an on-site intervention for
positive cases. Our ongoing efforts are directed at administrators who can make the
adoption decision. We have developed a special briefing program with supporting materials to
encourage as well as facilitate adoption of a screening and brief intervention protocol in
trauma centers throughout the greater Houston area. Here, the KT model was matched to user
needs and involved direct, rather than mediated communications. Our modeling repertoire,
more fully developed in this past year, is sufficiently flexible to accommodate a wide range of
circumstances, content and adoption patterns.
Finally, with the launch of our KT Web portal this past summer, the RIA team offers a public
resource for building better communications, collaboration and scholarship within the field of
KT. The portal not only contributes to scholarship with databases on funding and literature, but
also informs with a calendar of events and a newsroom. Collaboration is encouraged through
the support of user-provided content and networking. Communications include active Twitter
and Facebook accounts and a growing inventory of podcasts. Plans are in place for a phased
expansion of these capabilities based on user feedback.
None of this would have been possible without the continued support and encouragement of
the ExxonMobil Foundation and our valued liaison, Dr. Myron Harrison. We are very grateful and
intend to expand our activities and innovations in the coming year.
Associate Director,
Institute for Health Policy
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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6. One-Stop Shopping for KT Information
On Aug. 10th, 2009, Research Into Action (RIA) launched www.KTExchange.
org, a comprehensive, Web-based portal for knowledge translation (KT).
The site launch was the culmination of many months of intense research,
development, and design work by the entire RIA staff.
starting with a Web site audit and a worldwide survey of KT experts
conducted in the summer of 2008, RIA staff constructed a detailed picture
of a Web portal that would be extremely user-friendly; meet the research,
information, and networking needs of a broad audience; and set the standard
for design and ease of use.
KTExchange.org features regularly updated, searchable databases for KT
literature, events, and funders; best practices, case studies, and glossary
sections; a growing library of KT podcasts; and social networking tools that
allow registered members to build a professional profile, upload professional
and research work samples, and connect with colleagues from around the
6 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
7. world. The combination of searchable databases, social networking, and an extensive
worldwide events calendar to stay informed is unique.
The launch was accompanied by significant publicity, including traditional direct
mail, e-mail blasts, professional articles, and publicity at a Centers for Disease Control
conference on health communication in Atlanta, Georgia.
“KTExchange.org was created to support the development of an active community of
KT scholars and practitioners with social networking tools for building collaboration
and for sharing best practices,” said stephen Linder, Ph.D., associate director of the
Institute for Health Policy. “Researchers writing about knowledge translation or
practitioners involved in actually doing translation will find the databases we’ve developed
invaluable, and they can also use the site to build new connections with those who share
their interests and experiences.”
Currently, RIA staff is involved in improving KTExchange.org’s search engine optimization
by identifying key words that will lead people who are interested in KT to the site.
During the Phase II expansion of KTExchange.org, which will be undertaken in
February 2010, we plan to enlarge our presence and active outreach in a variety of social
media. We will add bookmarking widgets to the front page
of the site and add more Rss categories, which will enable
users to further customize their interactions with the site. We
will increase our activities and connections on our Twitter
feed and expand our KT newsroom by adding background
information and links to external resources. We will also
add a blog and discussion boards to the site as ways
to increase the interaction between RIA staff and the
members of KTExchange.org.
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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8. Spreading the Word about SBIRT
Today, there are 23 million people in the United states who are either addicted to
or abuse illegal drugs and alcohol. Over 95% of those who need treatment do not
receive any, and are unaware that there are programs in place to help them recognize
the problem and begin to deal with it. The most comprehensive, integrated public
health approach to meeting this need is sBIRT – screening, Brief Intervention, and
Referral to Treatment. That’s why RIA chose it as one of its first-year topics.
RIA staff spent 2009 carrying out detailed efforts to promote sBIRT. These
included preparing a resource document to support implementation of future sBIRT
programs within level three and four trauma centers, creating a comprehensive sBIRT
evidence-based presentation, and identifying key stakeholder presentations.
A highlight of the year was RIA’s presentation to the Regional Advisory
Council on Trauma Hospital Care Management Committee. In February 2010, RIA will
present again, this time to selected chief nursing officers of the level three and four
trauma centers within Harris County. Both presentations are pivotal for informing key
stakeholders within the community.
These final presentations are instrumental in laying the foundation for future
potential adoption of sBIRT programs within level three and four trauma centers in
Harris County. There are no guarantees for program adoption. However, the vast
body of literature demonstrates that sBIRT programs are cost-effective to both the
bottom line of each trauma center and their return on investment overall. so it would
be surprising if these respective trauma centers did not support adoption. sBIRT
8 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
9. Today, there are 23 million people in the United
States who are either addicted to or abuse illegal
drugs and alcohol. Over 95% of those who need
treatment do not receive any, and are unaware
that there are programs in place to help them
recognize the problem and begin to deal with it.
programs allow for screening and intervention services to be billed, are effective, and decrease
costs. sBIRT programs have even been found to decrease re-admissions, in some cases.
Potential outcomes for a positive impact could result in adoption of sBIRT programs, either
on a partial, full or hybrid scale. The sBIRT materials provided by the RIA team allow for a full
adoption of an entire sBIRT program. The program resource guide RIA developed functions as
a “how to” guide to the implementation process. Ultimately, we created a tool that will help any
trauma center in the United states that wants to adopt the sBIRT program.
six months after our last presentation, the RIA team will assess the sBIRT uptake of these
respective trauma centers within Harris County, and investigate why or why not the program
was implemented in each trauma center.
The American College of surgeons has mandated that level one trauma centers have
screening and intervention efforts, while level two trauma centers currently require only a
screening process. Given the effectiveness and low-cost nature of the sBIRT program, we
believe it is only a matter of time before a mandate for level three and four trauma centers
to implement similar practices is enacted. Our hope is that, if and when this happens, the
materials produced by RIA will help hospital staff do so.
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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10. PASS & CATCH Lead the Way
Exercise, Academics:
Moving On From PASS & CATCH
One of Research Into Action’s first-year topics was
the linkage of PAss & CATCH. Investigators posit
that increased classroom physical activity can help
teachers improve math and reading scores; improve
classroom management, concentration, and time on
task; and help students make healthy choices and
develop healthy habits.
RIA wrapped up its PAss & CATCH commitment in
2009 by working with the principal investigator to
develop an academic manuscript that describes
the science behind the program and the evidence
supporting the results. The manuscript is currently
undergoing review at the American Journal of Public
Health for possible publication.
10 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
11. subsequent to peer review and publication,
RIA will work with the Centers for Disease
Control’s national marketing team to ensure
extensive awareness of the PAss & CATCH
programs and encourage their adoption by
schools throughout the United states.
Meanwhile, RIA is pilot testing an evaluation
instrument that measures the uptake and
implementation of the interventions, and
the success of our communications model.
Once this instrument has been developed,
RIA staff plan to measure our efforts toward
raising awareness and understanding of
PAss & CATCH among educators, parents,
and other audiences in the Houston area.
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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12. RIA Embraces Social Media
During the research and development phase of
KTExchange.org, RIA staff learned more about the
lightning-fast growth of social networking media
on the Internet, including Facebook, Twitter, and
YouTube.
Integrating KTExchange.org into this rapidly
expanding social networking universe quickly
became a secondary goal of the site’s launch. During
the first six months of thesite’s existence, we have
added a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, and a YouTube
channel. In fact, RIA was one of the first entities
within The University of Texas Health science
Center at Houston to establish all of these – and
was the first in the UT school of Public Health.
The Facebook page is not specific to KTExchange.
org, but covers all of the activities of the Institute
for Health Policy (IHP). KTExchange.org, with its
numerous updates, is featured frequently on the
IHP Facebook page.
Original video programming is in the works for the
YouTube channel, starting with a brief review of
the most recent Rice University 360 conference,
“Transitioning Technologies From Labs to Least
Developed Countries.” All of these social
media outlets are accessible from the front page of
KTExchange.org.
The Twitter feed, accessible at www.twitter.com/
KTExchange, is updated daily with public health and
knowledge translation-related news from around
the Web, all in the more informal Twitter style.
The RIA staff will continue to explore social
networking advancements in order to remain easily
accessible to those interested in KT.
12 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
13. Post-Doctoral Fellow Leah Fischer, Senior Communications Specialist Rick
Austin, and Program Manager Nick Rocha listen as Research Associate Amy
Beaven makes a point while choosing the 2010 research topics.
Narrowing Our Focus –
New RIA Research Topics
In January 2009, the Research Into Action staff initiated the selection of new
projects for a second round of knowledge translation (KT) efforts. The group
retained the useful review criteria used for selecting projects in round one,
but decided to depart from our previous process by looking beyond research
conducted at the UT school of Public Health. Instead, RIA turned to agencies and
organizations of public health at the regional, state, and national level for timely
public health topics and community interventions. We reviewed Web sites and
publications and compiled a list of the most pressing public health issues.
sixteen broad topics were identified for further consideration based on the
perceived size of the problem, potential impact of a solution, local relevance and
expertise, and group interest. Information on each topic was then gathered from
peer-reviewed literature, grey literature, and news sources and distributed to the
RIA team. After a brief review, each team member rated the prospects of the
topics individually. In April 2009 the team met for a day-long retreat to
narrow our selections down to six topics using our criteria scores and a
consensus-building exercise similar to a Delphi method.
Members of the team then researched sub-themes and evidence-based
community interventions for each of the six topics, compiling materials to
help determine the readiness of new research for KT. Insurance coverage and
environmental public health were selected as the most KT-ready topic areas.
Local experts were brought in to discuss research ready for dissemination and
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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14. practice within these fields. The RIA team decided that, within environmental health, the
evidence on the physiological effects of noise pollution and noise abatement programs and
policies was something we should pursue further.
Due to the timeliness of both state and federal attention to the expansion of insurance
coverage and the concern that, with only 25% of its population insured, Texas ranks last among
the states for coverage, RIA determined translation of research on policies or programs of
expanded coverage was an appropriate KT project. A post-doctoral position was created and
filled within RIA to study expansion of insurance coverage through three-share programs, a
recommendation of the Code Red report currently employed in Galveston and Houston.
since August 2009, the RIA team has been developing KT efforts around the expansion of
insurance coverage through three-share programs and interventions to reduce the
physiological effects of noise pollution.
The RIA team has been
Expansion of Insurance Coverage
developing KT efforts
The 2007 release of the “Code Red: The Critical Condition
around the expansion
of Health in Texas” report included a review of innovative
programs for expanding insurance coverage to low-income of insurance coverage
families and to employees of small businesses. Three-share
through three-share
pilot programs from other states were highlighted as one
potential model, with the task force recommending state programs
investment in local three-share programs for Texas.
shortly thereafter, the state legislature passed a bill authorizing counties to establish or
participate in a local or regional health care program offering health care services or benefits
to uninsured employees of small employers. Grant funding from two state agencies made it
possible for three-share programs to be created in several Texas localities.
The three-share program is a community-based health coverage model that is designed
as a locally governed nonprofit. Collaborative arrangements and the integration of
community resources allow three-share programs to deliver affordable health care by
spreading the financial risk.
Further, three-share programs are not state-regulated insurance products and so are not
required to comply with mandated requirements for health coverage. Additionally, the cost
of health care is shared among employers, employees and a community subsidy. Affordable
health care improves access to health care. In this way, three-share programs fill the gap
between government-funded health programs and commercial health insurance.
The first area in Texas to establish a program was Galveston County in 2008. More recently,
Harris County and the Central Texas region (Travis, Hayes, and Williamson counties)
implemented programs, while three additional ones are expected to launch within the
next year. The six Texas three-share programs combined are expected to cover 50,000
individuals.
Across the country there are approximately seven other active three-share programs, with
six others (excluding those in Texas) in planning and developmental stages. And while indi-
14 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
15. vidual programs are tailored to address specific community needs and preferences, common
design features include: an enrollment mechanism; income eligibility requirements; a limited local
provider network; and a defined set of benefits.
The RIA team recognized a large gap in knowledge about the different mechanisms,
effectiveness, and sustainability of insurance coverage provided through three-share. In fact,
little to no evaluation has been done of the existing pilot programs. The RIA staff will spend
time in 2010 generating a report and other communication pieces sharing information that is
currently lacking about three-share programs and other innovative coverage strategies.
As the project moves forward, we will work to place our recommendations and KT products
in the context of rapidly changing state and federal efforts to expand insurance coverage.
Research Into Action, and the Institute for Health Policy, will be providing a much-needed and
timely service to local and state decision-makers by synthesizing information, evaluating existing
programs, and reporting on policies and programs to insure more Texans.
Noise Pollution and Abatement
Noise pollution is currently a hot topic within the environmental
public health field. Growth in urbanization and industrialization
has led to life getting louder at home and in the workplace. City
residents may recognize the annoyance, but few realize it could be
making them sick.
The relationship between exposure to excessively loud
noises and hearing loss is well-established. However, until recently
other physiological effects related to extreme or chronic
exposure to noise were less researched and certainly less known.
And while occupational noise exposure has been a source for
adverse health information and receives a fair amount of attention,
non-occupational urban noise may be a not-so-silent and less obvious killer.
The RIA team is currently reviewing and mapping the evidence of a growing body of literature on
the adverse health effects of urban noise. so far, the evidence has shown associations between
urban noise and adverse outcomes such as:
• Poor performance in tasks such as reading and memorizing; poor cognition;
poor motivation
• Adverse health effects, such as cardiovascular disease; ischemic heart disease; stroke;
hypertension; elevated stress hormones; raised levels of nor-adrenaline and adrenaline;
disturbed sleep patterns
• Adverse psychiatric disorders, such as headaches, restless nights and being tense and edgy
As we compile information on adverse health effects, we are also working to identify noise
abatement efforts at the local, state, and national levels. We are gathering information on
acceptable noise levels set by relevant governing agencies, active ordinances, and enforcement
activities. We will be in contact with government officials, researchers, and other stakeholders as
we try to identify effective interventions or gaps warranting further KT.
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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16. InvestigatingtheHealthofHouston Focused on the Health of Houston
Three distinctive, yet interconnected projects make up the Health of Houston
Initiative. All are aimed at providing new information and insight, based on
careful research, that will help improve Houston’s health overall and the quality
and effectiveness of its public health care delivery systems.
The Institute for Health Policy’s goal for these projects is to provide community
leaders and government officials with better evidence on which to base their
decisions and resource commitments. Evidence, in this instance, will include
evaluations of mental health policy and service initiatives, assessments of the
performance and challenges in our safety net system, and more accurate
portrayals of the population’s health status and health care gaps.
A number of reports will be produced in the coming two years – seven on
mental health policy and five on safety net topics – and a large data
repository will be assembled from interviews and serve as a basis for analyses
and dissemination. several of the reports are well underway and will be
completed in the next few months. For the most part, however, our first year of
projects implementation was devoted to planning, data gathering and
background analysis.
Targeted dissemination will be a critical feature of our success in reaching
decision-makers with our results in a form that they can use and appreciate. As
the dissemination plan becomes more detailed in year two, we will be working
with various organizations to help ensure that the directions and products of
our research will prove useful in determining how best to impact the health of
our community.
16 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
17. Finally, collaboration across these three projects is critical to the success of evaluating our
efforts. Have these projects made a difference to decision-makers? Have they made a
difference in how agencies, services and philanthropic organizations direct their programmatic
investments? We plan to be able to answer these questions in addition to those more topical
ones that direct our research.
The Mental Health Policy Analysis Collaborative
The Mental Health Policy Analysis Collaborative (MHPAC) is on track to produce seven studies
on current mental health care concerns and policy issues. The project’s inter-institutional team
(The University of Texas Health science Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, Rice
University, the University of Houston, and the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority
of Harris County) has completed its background research, drawing both on the literature and
direct contacts with researchers and experts.
Relationships were developed with several local and state organizations – the Texas
Department of state Health services (DsHs), the Michael E. DeBakey Veteran’s Affairs Medical
Center, the Houston Independent school District, and the juvenile justice system. Already, these
relationships have resulted in contract negotiations with the Texas Medicaid office of DsHs to
acquire a complete and identified dataset of Medicaid in Harris County, necessary to address
several of the MHPAC’s research questions. It is likely the most comprehensive dataset of its
kind in the United states.
Houston Health Services Research Collaborative
The overall goal of the collaborative is to conduct high-quality policy-relevant health services
research focusing on key issues in Harris County and southeast Texas that affect low-income
populations. The specific objectives are to:
• Organize research teams to conduct specific projects that provide needed information
to health policy decision makers, community leaders, and program administrators
• Develop and maintain databases that can be used by the community to monitor health
problems and health service performance
• Provide technical assistance to the community in health services research, planning, and
program evaluation
In the summer of 2009, community leaders were interviewed on local health care issues and key
informational needs that could be addressed by the collaborative researchers.
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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18. The Health of Houston 2010 Survey
An important goal for the 2010 survey is to involve community groups and stakeholders
throughout the planning, implementation, and dissemination process. In the first year,
attention focused on building cooperative relationships with governmental, provider and
community organizations and preparing communication and dissemination materials.
We designed a Web page (www.sph.uth.tmc.edu/ihp/survey2010) to support the survey’s
dissemination, created tailored PowerPoint presentations, online and printed survey
brochures, and online and paper-based forms to solicit public input on the selection of topics
for the survey questionnaire.
Briefings were held with the leadership of the Houston Department of Health and
Human services and the Harris County Public Health and Environmental services, with
provider groups focused on health (Harris County Health Care Alliance, One Voice Texas and
Gateway to Care) and with community groups, including super neighborhood councils and civic
organizations. An input form was distributed, and responses were gathered from 88
organizations throughout the Houston area. We produced customized fact sheets for
each participating stakeholder and community group reporting on the results from this
input process.
An important goal, once our survey is completed in early 2011, is to establish full and easy
access to survey results and to tailor data dissemination to the needs of potential users. Our
intent is to utilize recent technological advances to support Web-based access, analysis
and visualization of statistical information. To that end, the team selected data presentation
products that will permit us to reach two kinds of potential users – those who just want simple
summaries and displays, and those who will require complex multivariate analysis.
18 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
19. sharingOurExpertise
Sharing and Supporting Our Work
Research Into Action staff were busy this past year with activities beyond
KTExchange and our research topics. staff prepared public health information for
government officials, helped spread the word about knowledge translation, and
established a new way to reach out to potential donors in 2009.
Becoming the Go-To Resource for Elected Officials
Elected officials are often required to make tough decisions regarding health
care and the public’s best interests. In 2009, Research Into Action provided
information on a variety of topics for our government representatives.
For instance, a research associate produced a policy brief at the request of Texas
state senator Rodney Ellis on routine testing for HIV/AIDs in Texas. The brief
outlined the benefits of widespread testing for HIV, and identified the obstacles
– such as testing too late, testing too few people, and the costs involved. The
brief gave sen. Ellis a snapshot of the current state of HIV/AIDs in Texas, and the
cost-effectiveness and public health benefits of expanding testing.
RIA also created a summary of the public health research being carried out
at the six research centers and institutes and six regional campuses of The
University of Texas school of Public Health. This summary was made available to the
leadership of the Texas state Legislature, so our state representatives were aware
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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20. of the cutting-edge research into important topics - including diabetes, obesity, cancer, and
prevention - currently being undertaken by the school.
Spreading the Word
The Institute for Health Policy’s associate director, stephen Linder, Ph.D., began 2009 by
presenting his research on climate change at the National Academy of science in
Washington, D.C. This was just the first of many opportunities Linder had throughout the year
to demonstrate his knowledge of a variety of public health topics – everything from causality
and epidemiology before an international audience in Barcelona, spain, to the Environmental
Protection Agency’s endangerment findings at the society of Risk Analysis in
Baltimore, Maryland.
In addition, senior Communication specialist Rick Austin and Research Associate Amy
Beaven attended the Centers for Disease Control’s National Conference on Health Communication,
Marketing and Media in August 2009, an annual gathering in Atlanta that brings
together more than 1,000 professionals from the fields of public health, social marketing, health
communications, and academia. This was the second consecutive year RIA staff had attended
and presented at the conference.
They presented a poster session titled, “An Axial Model for Knowledge Translation: Building
Complexity Into Design.” The session introduced RIA’s new model for knowledge translation,
and drew interest from a variety of attendees.
20 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
21. A secondary goal of the conference was to introduce and publicize www.KTExchange.
org, RIA’s new Web portal, which launched the first day of the conference. Beaven and
Austin brought promotional materials for both the Web portal and RIA, and distributed
them throughout the conference.
Establishing Online Giving
The Research Into Action initiative relies on the financial support of organizations
such as the ExxonMobil Foundation and the Houston Endowment Inc. to carry out its
work. Launching Web sites, producing knowledge translation materials, presenting at
conferences, and offering fellowships all costs money, and RIA receives limited funding
from The University of Texas Health science Center at Houston or The University of Texas
school of Public Health.
In an effort to reach out to potential donors, the RIA, working with the UT school of
Public Health’s development director, created a way for interested groups to help us
bridge the gap between research and public health policy and practice by donating
online at the Institute for Health Policy’s university Web site, located at www.sph.uth.tmc.
edu/ihp, and on our knowledge translation portal, www.KTExchange.org.
Gifts to the institute and the RIA initiative enable us to address large-scale public
health issues with evidence-based programs and policies that have proven effective.
Philanthropic gifts provide necessary funds for our work in helping effective KT become
the norm. As more people use the Internet as their main information resource, we are
meeting the challenge to thrive in the new 2.0 world.
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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22. LookingForwardto2010
22 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
23. As we reported earlier, our intent in the coming year is to
introduce two new content areas for practical translation and to refine
further our modeling and implementation efforts. Likewise, we will be
expanding the Web portal to incorporate new features and
capabilities, based on user experience and preferences, and extending
our reach with search engine optimization.
Given the time it takes to see impact from translation activity, in the
coming year we will also be better able to assess our performance
in the prior round of translation activity. Our point of departure in
2010 will be efforts to leverage our direct funding to take on new KT
challenges. Certainly, efforts to raise matching funds for other
institute projects will continue. In this instance, however, we will seek
new funds to underwrite an expansion of the RIA initiative with new
staff and communications capabilities.
Our key funding opportunity follows the release by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) of a new request for proposals in the area
of translation and dissemination. Although other funding lines have
included a KT component as part of conventional scientific research,
this is the first in the United states focused on KT modeling and the
testing of alternative communication schemes.
continued...
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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24. A second source of supplemental funding will come with our
assumption of a leadership role over the community engagement
component of UT’s Center for Clinical and Translational sciences.
This center was one of the first funded by the NIH and will seek a full
renewal this spring, with RIA funding included. The opportunity to join the
center is, in part, a reflection of our growing reputation for effective KT.
The content areas we have chosen for translation represent special
challenges that will stretch our models and communications capabilities.
We will also continue to lead in KT Web applications and pursue new
interactive features.
Finally, we will lay a foundation for long-term sustainability of the RIA
by applying for federal funding support. None of this would be possible
without the initial commitment of the ExxonMobil Foundation to our
idea and their willingness, as the founding funder, to provide multiple
years of support to help us achieve this sustainability. Thank you.
24 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
25. Appendices
KT Model
KTExchange Databases
Staff List
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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26. KT Axial Model Developed by RIA
26 2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
27. sampleKTExchangeDatabases
2009 Annual Report/Research Into Action A Knowledge Translation Initiative
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