In FY 1999 Congress appropriated $15 million to inaugurate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Prevention Research Initiative. In an effort to enhance the visibility of the program and to promote CDC as an agency that supports extramural prevention research, CDC contracted with Westat to conduct an assessment of the prevention research community’s perceptions about prevention research and funding at CDC. Telephone interviews were conducted with 27 individuals representing key target audiences: CDC-funded prevention researchers, deans of academic health centers, and directors of state/local health departments. Key findings from the interviews revealed that respondents have varying definitions of prevention research, with most favoring multi-disciplinary approaches to prevention research that emphasize practical, community-oriented research; most respondents view CDC as an organization that supports extramural prevention research, but not to the extent of other organizations; and most respondents feel that CDC should support collaborative prevention research endeavors. Findings regarding respondents’ communication and channel preferences for receiving information about prevention research will also be presented at the session, followed by a discussion of implications for developing a communication strategy to promote extramural prevention research at CDC.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant (learner) will be able to: 1. Identify key message and concept needs of CDC prevention research audiences, and 2. Artliculate areas in which CDC might enhance the visibility of its extramural prevention research efforts.
Keywords: Prevention, Health Communications
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: The services provided by Westat will be discussed in this presentation.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.