Conclusions and recommendations
The larger literature on knowledge utilization
indicates that, to be effective, dissemination and utilization cannot
be "tag-on" activities. Rather, D&U concerns must be incorporated
into the earliest planning stages of a research study (NCDDR, 1996).
The D&U literature also indicates that, when potential users assess
information about research outcomes, the credibility and perceived trustworthiness
of the source is of paramount importance — and, as the literature
on diversity suggests, trustworthiness relates to the capacity to be
culturally responsive. The work of increasing the use of research outcomes
among diverse consumer populations, then, lies not merely in selecting
dissemination media or packaging information to be distributed via those
media. The overarching task lies in becoming a "culturally competent" organization,
one that knows, listens to, works with, and addresses the needs of its
intended audiences; one that reflects the diversity of those audiences
in its policies and personnel; and one that involves potential users
throughout the research, development, and dissemination process.
The following are some suggestions for working
toward cultural competence in terms of organizational structure and policies,
research activities, and dissemination and utilization activities. Because
little research exists that addresses the processes of dissemination and
utilization for minority persons with disabilities, these recommendations
must be considered tentative; they are based on a synthesis of understandings
about knowledge utilization, on the one hand, and about racial, ethnic,
and cultural diversity on the other.
Organizational recommendations
- Review and adapt organizational purposes
and policies to include a commitment to cultural competence. Make this
commitment pervasive and long term.
- Examine recruitment and hiring policies
and procedures. Look for the cultural assumptions contained within
them and consider the effects of those assumptions on the organization’s
staffing choices. Seek ways of diversifying staff. Avoid tokenism.
- Make sure all staff understand that cultural
competence is the responsibility of the entire organization, not only
of minority staff members or "special" projects or committees.
- Seek ways of establishing an active, partnering
presence within the community, whether "community" is defined
by geography or interest.
- Build strong, ongoing relationships with
a wide variety of intermediaries who have direct access to potential
users. Approach these relationships as a partner rather than as a provider.
Remember that intermediaries, like targeted users, will need to find
the organization, its activities, and its outcomes both relevant and
trustworthy.
Research recommendations
- Ground decisions about research purposes
and hypotheses in a thorough knowledge of potential user audiences.
Employ a variety of methods to learn about those audiences, including
focus groups, surveys, community involvement, input from intermediaries,
and ongoing input from potential users themselves.
- Examine the assumptions inherent in the
goals, hypotheses, and methods of the intended research. Ask others
to explore those assumptions, particularly people with experience and
insight into potential user groups, and representatives from those
groups.
- Explore a variety of research methodologies,
seeking to identify approaches that are most likely to yield accurate,
in-depth outcomes related to all target audiences. Consider a blend
of qualitative and quantitative approaches.
- Define all variables fully; be cautious
about hidden assumptions and/or comparisons with variables in other
studies that may be differently or less fully defined.
- Use sampling techniques that provide for
adequate representation among all targeted audiences, and address appropriate
subpopulations, not merely broad racial or ethnic categories.
- Structure data collection activities to
assure an appropriate rate of return from all targeted subpopulations.
This likely will require a variety of data collection activities that
extend beyond traditional mail or telephone surveys, particularly to
reach low-income respondents. Take care to assure that interview and
other questioning techniques are culturally appropriate. Assure language
accessibility via both print and interpreters.
- In analyzing data, carefully consider
within-group as well as between-group differences. Be cautious of making
cultural assumptions in data analysis and conclusions.
- Seek input and feedback — eliciting
both formal and informal "reality checks" — from representatives
of target audiences in identifying data collection procedures, identifying
or developing data collection instruments, analyzing data, and drawing
conclusions.
Dissemination and utilization recommendations
- Begin thinking about the task of dissemination
and utilization at the earliest stages of the research effort.
- In learning about potential user groups
(see recommendation, above), seek to identify the information sources
and media on which they most frequently rely. Consider not only traditional
media, such as print and television, but community resources, leaders,
and informal "gatekeepers."
- Use multiple dissemination strategies
and media, targeted to specific subpopulations. Never rely on a single
approach.
- In determining what information to disseminate,
consider what the potential user will think is important. Labels, titles,
and supporting data that are important to funding sources and other
researchers often seem completely irrelevant to intermediaries, potential
consumers, and their families.
- Assure that the information to be disseminated
is accessible in language, syntax, format, and length; respectful of
cultural customs and proprieties; and relevant to potential users’ concerns.
- Draw as extensively as possible on D&U strategies that provide for personal contact between potential users and persons who can facilitate the use of research outcomes. Use intermediaries: service
providers such as independent living centers or rehabilitation service agencies; community resources such as advocacy groups, churches, community centers, and the like; and informal community leaders
and resources, including herbalists and healers who apply traditional cultural approaches. Remember that using intermediaries means the intermed iaries themselves become a D&U audience.
- Seek input and feedback from representatives
of target audiences throughout the D&U process.
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