Reinventing The Wheel Of Medical Evidence: How The Boot Camp Translation Process Is Making Gains

Medical guidelines use language and concepts that are not understood by many patients, which makes it difficult for patients to choose the best treatment. The High Plains Research Network's Community Advisory Council, made up of farmers, teachers, and other community members in eastern Colorado, identified a lack of community knowledge about colon cancer and developed a process the council named Boot Camp Translation to turn complex screening guidelines into locally relevant messages. This article provides a brief history of the process and describes how it has been used to translate and disseminate evidence-based medical guidelines. The Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute tested the Boot Camp Translation process on multiple topics in communities throughout the United States from 2012 to 2015. During that period the institute used the process more than twenty-five times, addressing the topics of cancer prevention, hypertension, asthma, diabetes, and mental health. Multiple studies show that use of the process has led to improvement in cancer testing, asthma management, and hypertension control. Policies that support the translation of medical evidence into local programs will improve the health of patients.