Abstract
BackgroundWeb-based platforms can be powerful tools for research dissemination. By leveraging the advantages of mass media and interpersonal channels of communication, Web-based dissemination platforms may improve awareness about, and subsequent adoption of, evidence-based practices (EBPs). Digital dissemination strategies can augment traditional dissemination models, improving stakeholder access to digestible and actionable information and promoting translation of EBPs.ObjectiveThis study aimed to describe the reach and content of the Web presence of a National Institute on Drug Abuse Center of Excellence and how it is used to disseminate research related to digital behavioral health approaches.MethodsThe Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) has a website and regularly updated Facebook and Twitter accounts. The website features include summaries of digital behavioral health approaches and related empirical literature, a blog feed focused on the state of the science and technology concerning digital health care approaches, and a newsletter about Center activities. We extracted website usage metrics from Google Analytics and follower counts from social media accounts for the period from March 1, 2013, to July 17, 2018.ResultsSince the implementation of analytic tracking, 70,331 users have initiated 96,995 sessions on the CTBH website. The website includes summaries of 86 digital therapeutic programs, encompassing 447 empirical articles. There are 1160 posts in the CTBH blog feed, including 180 summaries of scholarly articles. The Twitter and Facebook accounts have 577 and 1500 followers, respectively. The newsletter has reached a growing subscriber network and has a high open rate relative to industry standards.ConclusionsThe CTBH Web presence serves as a model for how to leverage accessible and easily updatable digital platforms as research dissemination channels. Digital dissemination tools can augment traditional dissemination strategies to promote awareness about evidence-based digital therapeutic approaches for behavioral health and health care more broadly.
Highlights
The limited translation of research to practice is a long-standing issue in health care [1,2,3], and adoption of innovations to support evidence-based treatment for substance use and mental health conditions is no exception
The Center for Technology and Behavioral Health (CTBH) Web presence serves as a model for how to leverage accessible and updatable digital platforms as research dissemination channels
We describe how website and social media features of a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-designated P30 Center of Excellence are used to disseminate research about digital therapeutic approaches for substance use and mental health conditions
Summary
Background The limited translation of research to practice is a long-standing issue in health care [1,2,3], and adoption of innovations to support evidence-based treatment for substance use and mental health conditions is no exception. There is strong and growing evidence for digital therapeutic approaches targeting substance use and mental health conditions [12,13,14,15,16,17]. By leveraging the advantages of mass media and interpersonal channels of communication, Web-based dissemination platforms may improve awareness about, and subsequent adoption of, evidence-based practices (EBPs). Digital dissemination strategies can augment traditional dissemination models, improving stakeholder access to digestible and actionable information and promoting translation of EBPs
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