Disseminating the Foundations of Knowledge Translation and Patient Engagement Science Through the KnowledgeNudge Blog and Twitter Profile: Quantitative Descriptive Evaluation.

Kathryn M Sibley,Patricia L Roche,Patrick Faucher,Masood Khan,Carly Leggett

doi:10.2196/15351

Abstract

BackgroundThere is a documented need to build capacity for theory- and evidence-informed knowledge translation (KT) and patient engagement (PE) practice in health research. Dissemination of foundational content online coupled with social media promotion may build capacity by increasing awareness, knowledge, and positive attitudes.ObjectiveThis retrospective study sought to (1) describe exposure and engagement of the KnowledgeNudge KT and PE dissemination strategy (online blog and Twitter profile) over 2 years and (2) identify and compare characteristics of individual posts with the most and least exposure and reach.MethodsExposure was assessed by blog site views per month and Twitter profile impressions per month. Engagement was assessed by Twitter profile interactions per month. Descriptive statistics were calculated for 6-month blocks and compared using one-way analysis of variance or Student t test. Individual post exposure was assessed by average post views per week. Individual post reach was assessed by average post reads per week. High- and low-profile blog posts with the highest and lowest 10th percentile for exposure and reach were identified.ResultsA total of 99 posts and 755 tweets were published during the study period. There was a significant increase in exposure (P=.004) and reach (P<.001) during the final 6 months. Seven high-profile and 6 low-profile posts were identified. High-profile posts had a significantly greater average word count than low-profile posts (P=.003). There were no other significant differences between posts.ConclusionsThe increases in KnowledgeNudge exposure and engagement offer preliminary evidence in support of this dissemination strategy for the practice of KT and PE. Variation in individual post exposure and reach warrants further exploration to tailor content to user needs. Future work will include a prospective evaluation strategy to explore the effect of KnowledgeNudge on awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior.

Highlights

Knowledge translation (KT) is an evolving discipline dedicated to advancing the synthesis, exchange, dissemination, and application of knowledge to optimize health, health care delivery, and the health care system [1]
J Med Internet Res 2020 | vol 22 | iss. 6 | e15351 | p. 2 profile), study data were extracted from standard use metrics available for the KnowledgeNudge blog site account and KnowledgeNudge Twitter profile
By formally measuring and documenting changes in exposure and engagement of the KnowledgeNudge strategy, this study adds to the growing body of literature on the use of social media in dissemination science and demonstrates important contributions for building capacity in the practice of high-quality knowledge translation (KT) and patient engagement (PE) practices

Summary

Introduction

Knowledge translation (KT) is an evolving discipline dedicated to advancing the synthesis, exchange, dissemination, and application of knowledge to optimize health, health care delivery, and the health care system [1]. It is a dynamic and iterative process that occurs throughout complex interactions between evidence producers and users [1], including but not http://www.jmir.org/2020/6/e15351/ XSLFO RenderX. In a 2015 qualitative study of health researchers in Manitoba, Canada, KT education and training resources were identified as most needed to support practicing KT [7]. There is a documented need to build capacity for theory- and evidence-informed knowledge translation (KT) and patient engagement (PE) practice in health research. Dissemination of foundational content online coupled with social media promotion may build capacity by increasing awareness, knowledge, and positive attitudes

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