The Dissemination Research Logic Model for advancing dissemination science and practice

Relative to implementation science, dissemination science is at an earlier stage of development and lacks a tool for specifying and visually depicting the components of the dissemination process. Dissemination science studies the strategic spread of information whereas implementation science focuses on the integration of interventions within specific settings. As a counterpart to the Implementation Research Logic Model, we propose the Dissemination Research Logic Model (DRLM) to fill this gap. Our work is informed by the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV Interventions (ATN), which advances biomedical and behavioral approaches to strengthen HIV prevention and care for adolescents and young adults.

We define the DRLM's constructs and sequence and present key principles and best practices for its use. We then apply the model to two ATN studies: (1) Project PrEPare (ATN 113), the first U.S. adolescent pre-exposure prophylaxis demonstration project for adolescent men who have sex with men, and (2) Tailored Motivational Interviewing (TMI; ATN 128 and 146), an adjunct clinic-based motivational interviewing intervention addressing HIV among youth.

We use the DRLM to specify each project's components, including: what is being disseminated; the intended audience(s); and dissemination determinants, strategies, channels, mechanisms, and outcomes. Project PrEPare illustrates a broad dissemination campaign in which evidence supporting the safety, acceptability, feasibility, and effectiveness of PrEP for adolescents was disseminated to policymakers, healthcare providers, and youth, with dissemination outcomes including perceived fit, leadership endorsement, and decision to implement. TMI provides an ongoing example of disseminating an adjunct intervention to clinic leadership and staff, with the decision to implement TMI representing the primary desired dissemination outcome and a transition point to implementation.

The DRLM offers a flexible tool for visually depicting how dissemination processes unfold. The DRLM can strengthen the design, conduct, and reporting of dissemination studies while complementing broader approaches, such as knowledge mobilization. Future research should test and refine the DRLM across diverse projects and settings to increase conceptual clarity and comparability across studies and to accelerate dissemination science.