Leveraging patient/community partnerships to disseminate patient centered outcomes research in geriatrics

Background: With the growth of patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR), partnerships between researchers and patients have presented novel opportunities for disseminating results. Alarge gap exists in disseminating patient-centered research results to older adult patient end-users. We sought to examine the experiences of patient/community partners in disseminating PCOR results and characterize lessons learned that may facilitate future researcher-patient/community dissemination partnerships. Methods: Patient/community partners who participated in geriatrics-focused PCORI-funded research and were active in disseminating results, as part of their planned activities, were recruited for one-to-one qualitative interviews. Constant comparative and thematic analysis were used to identify and describe common themes that emerged in a survey of open-ended questions. Results: Ten individuals (four community partners, six patients) aged 55-87 years were interviewed. Analysis revealed that for successful dissemination, subjects felt it was vital to reach out to people affected by the results, leverage personal stories, and tap into pre-developed programming. Patient/Community partners identified potential audiences through word-of-mouth, community requests, and mapping a list of audiences-targeting those directly affected as well as those who worked with the audience (e.g., not specifically medical). Patient/community partners recommended that researchers engage patient/community partners for suggestions on audiences, show empathy, include diverse populations, and maintain a community-focus. One community partner stated, "Why wouldn't we help disseminate results? It's a no-brainer. We know people!" Conclusion: Patient/community partners provide effective ways to communicate results, new audiences to reach, improved communication with different audiences, and improved credibility of the findings. The lessons learned have implications for assisting future research-patient/community partnerships in the dissemination of their patient-centered research.