EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION IN GERONTOLOGY: DIGITAL TOOLS PAPER TOOLS OR BOTH?

摘要

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the impact of pocket tools in digital and paper formats that contained evidence-based information about the core challenges of aging. The tools, based on current research in aging, were created by interdisciplinary teams for an established national/international knowledge mobilization network of older adults, students, policy makers, academics and practitioners. The overarching goal of the network was to place the most recent knowledge on aging in the hands of users in a rapid and straightforward way. Over 230 tools including care giving, financial literacy, legal issues, policing, dementia, mental health, ethnicity, elder mistreatment and technology were developed and have been utilized by over a million users nationally and internationally. All researchers, and community partners to this project have had strong vested interests in knowing if the tools were effective, which format worked best for their stakeholders, and how the information was used. The investigation included a survey of current users of the tools (n=800) to evaluate how the tools were used; digital and paper tool users (seniors, practitioners, caregivers) were compared on outcomes of effectiveness in 9 random clinical trials (n=783) and 40 respondents were interviewed in-depth about their challenges in using the tools. Here we report on the survey and the first random trial of tools, the outcomes, challenges and the roles and implications for international partners. The results suggested that both digital and paper tools were very helpful in uptake but the digital divide still existed according to age and education.