Abstract

Addiction treatment programs adopt evidence-based practices slowly, in part because adopting a new practice is a process, not an event. Using different communication channels may have a different effect at different points in the process. This paper reports the effectiveness of five communication channels in getting substance abuse treatment programs to adopt new business practices. In this study, national trade media coverage produced the greatest interest among programs and the greatest number of decisions to adopt. Conference presentations produced fewer decisions to adopt than national media, but were the most effective channel when compared to the number of programs they reached. Peers were the greatest influence in moving clinic staff from the decision to adopt to implementation. These findings give preliminary evidence for using different communication channels at different times during an effort to promote the adoption of best practices.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Johnson KA, Ford JH, McCluskey M

Institution

NIATx, 4113 Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, United States. Kimberly.johnson@chess.wisc.edu

Source

Addictive behaviors 37:11 2012 Nov pg 1193-7

MeSH

Communication
Congresses as Topic
Decision Making
Diffusion of Innovation
Evidence-Based Practice
Humans
Information Dissemination
Internet
Mass Media
Professional Practice
Substance-Related Disorders

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22771023