Grant: Knowledge Translation Supplement

The goals of this application are to synthesize and consolidate our cumulative research findings on rural maternity care through a multi-methods process of engagement with expanded key stakeholder groups and to conceptually expand the implications of work beyond rural maternity care to other rural health services. The principal applicants have made a significant tripartite contribution to the evidence base supporting the planning of rural maternity health services through peer-reviewed academic literature, dissemination to community members through reports and to policy and decision-makers through policy briefs. We are now ready to expand this work on a conceptual and practical level. Specific Objectives include: 1) Authoring a book on the value of studying rural health services to gain insight into the sustainability of our health care system. This book will be informed by a series of "Café Scientifiques" involving diverse groups of stakeholders; 2) Expanding the implications of our findings within targeted groups of key stakeholders to answer the question, "What do these findings mean" within their frames of reference (policy and planning, practice and receipt of service); 3) Adopting innovate, contextually and contemporarily appropriate strategies for engaging broader interest groups in the findings. This will include building on our traditional broadcast website to create an interactive, multi-directional information flow between researchers and knowledge users and; 4) Build on our existing Australian collaboration to provide an international dimension and transferability to the dissemination of our findings. The significance of this proposed comprehensive KT initiative is that it will serve to pragmatically consolidate and expand upon the work accomplished to date and explore the implications of our research findings to other rural health services and core primary care services in larger communities.