Penn State Translational Science Seminar - When Best Practices Fail: Nuances of Using Narratives in Research Dissemination to Policymakers

In this seminar, Elizabeth C. Long, PhD, Assistant Research Professor and Director of Research and Evaluation with the Evidence-to-Impact Collaboration, will describe the pilot of an enhanced research dissemination approach and the results from three experiments testing strategies for increasing the reach of research to state-level policymakers. In these experiments, rapid-cycle randomized controlled trials were used to test the impact of using narratives that describe people's lived experiences with substance use disorder on state policymakers' engagement with substance use research. Recommendations for optimizing research dissemination efforts with policymakers based on these results will be discussed.