Dissemination of Cancer Survivorship Research: Meeting Summary

Action Steps Participants Believe That NCI Should Take To Support Research in Dissemination and Diffusion of Survivorship Research in the Future

1. Although there is not always sufficient research to justify a synthesis of the literature, where it is possible, a synthesis should inform both new survivorship research and practice. This background might be developed as fact sheets for peer reviewers to help guide their decisions.
   
   
2. NCI posed several questions to the researchers around the table. The NCI should follow-up with these questions at future meetings or on-line venues (e.g. e-mail).
   • Are there components of interventions that can be disaggregated? For example, can an intervention component that appears efficacious be incorporated into other studies?
   • Are researchers willing to develop descriptions of intervention components, and describe how they were selected and validated so that others might plug them into their research where appropriate? The P.L.A.N.E.T. Web site is an example of a resource that provides practitioners and researchers access to these kinds of tools.
   • What should the lowest threshold be for disseminating a product?” Is it effect size, a second study, or other?
   • How do we get the materials out of the cancer centers to more community-based audiences?
     
     
3. NCI should help identify and promote funding opportunities that support dissemination research efforts.
   • Report on new cancer control or survivorship funding opportunities at NCI and other public and private agencies that could support dissemination (e.g. Trans-NIH program for a 5-year D&D studies program beginning next year; the CDC will add D&D to some of their announcements)
   • Support mechanisms that encourage cost effectiveness analysis in future intervention research.
     
     
4. NCI should help facilitate potential partnership among researchers and potential intermediaries by establishing a coalition of non-NCI funders.
   • SAMHSA helps to publicize and disseminate models that they fund. NCI does not fund that approach, but some coalition partners may wish to do so.
   • The American Cancer Society is interested in non-professional staff dependent delivery systems (e.g. programs suitable for volunteers to provide).
   • Discussants stressed the importance of building partnerships with professional groups including MD’s (e.g. “There is nothing more powerful than your doctor saying – I think this will help you get better”) and social workers. HMOs and insurance agencies were also identified as potentially viable partners.
     
     
5. Determine criteria for developing a survivorship module on the Cancer Control P.L.A.N.E.T. Web site, and identifying cancer survivorship research interventions, products and resources “ready” to be included on P.L.A.N.E.T.