Advanced practice toolkit

Dissemination is an important part of any research study. It allows practitioners to be updated and improve their practice by engaging with new knowledge and innovation, and to collaborate widely with colleagues, the public and decision makers.

It is of outmost important, therefore, to think carefully and strategically of the best ways to share research knowledge to effectively promote and consolidate your leadership and professional development. This can be through public engagement activities, publishing research results at conferences; publications; communities of practice; local and national networks; social media, and policy engagement. It is worth thinking widely and consider other medium such as through blogs, podcasts, and videos. See Figure 1. Disseminating research for Advanced Practitioners (Aviles & Creighton-Carr, 2023).

Publications are the most common and well-known ways to disseminate research findings. Being published is an effective way of dissemination with the academic community nationally and globally.

When disseminating your research through an academic journal many funders insist that your research is published in an open-access journal to allow anyone to access it. Publishers charge a fee for open access publications, so you need to consider this in the cost of your research.

It is important to be aware of risks relating to publishing, in particular predatory journals. Predatory publishers charge a fee but unlike legitimate academic publishers, they don’t have a robust approach to reviewing papers. Publishing in a predatory journal is likely to tarnish your reputation. To avoid this risk, you can check with experienced colleagues or access a list such as Beall’s.

Practicing and engaging regularly on sharing research outputs encourage and embed a research culture that allow personal and professional growth. Here is a resource that shares tips on how to share research knowledge.

Further reading:

• Suiter, A. and Sarli, C (2019). Selecting a Journal for Publication: Criteria to Consider. Mo Med. [Online] 116 (6), 461-465. pdf
• Deutz, D. B. et al. (2020) Effective publication strategies in clinical research. PloS one. [Online] 15 (1), e0228438–e0228438.
• Gewin, V (2018). The write stuff. Nature [Online] 555, 129-130.  https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-02404-4

Public engagement describes diverse ways in which research can be shared with the public and communities, as a collaborative two-way process. In other words, develop activities that allow interacting, listening and sharing experiences between researcher/practitioners and the public that can generate mutual benefits.

Resources:

What is public engagement?

What is public engagement? | NCCPE

Planning your public engagement activities: Step by step guide

Planning your public engagement: a step-by-step guide (wellcome.org)

How to design and plan public engagement processes

How To Design And Plan Public Engagement Processes: A Handbook | What Works Scotland

UK National Standards:

• National standards for public involvement in research - YouTube
• UK Standards for Public Involvement (google.com)
• UK-Standards-for-Public-Involvement_Nov19.pdf - Google Drive

An example of effective public engagement is  Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief :: Welcome (goodlifedeathgrief.org.uk)

Social media are another strategy to disseminate research and engage with communities and the public. The wide stream use of online platforms can provide innovative ways to make your work known, yet there are a series of considerations to make this strategy effective and ethically sounding.

Resources:

• Top tips on social media Our social media guidance for members | The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
• Guidance on the use of social media Guidance on the use of social media | (hcpc-uk.org) 
• Build your networks | Turas | Learn (nhs.scot)
• Social media guidance - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

Further reading:

• Lee, G. et al (2021). Social media as a means to disseminate and advocate cardiovascular research: Why, how, and best practices. Curr Cardiol Rev. 17(2),122-128. doi: 10.2174/1573403X15666191113151325. Pdf
• Ross-Hellauer, T. et al. (2020) Ten simple rules for innovative dissemination of research. PLoS computational biology. [Online] 16 (4), e1007704–e1007704.

Conferences are also an effective way to get involved in research and disseminate your work. They can be profession specific or inter-disciplinary and they can be useful to showcase local and national work. They offer opportunities to reach and engage with a wide range of colleagues and networks including those working in clinical practice or clinical roles. You can hear about new and innovative developments and projects to be involved in, inspiring discussions and to learn new skills. They also offer an excellent opportunity to promote, and evidence research you have been involved in. Conferences may also be a steppingstone, such as in starting with presenting a poster, followed by a workshop/seminar presentation, and may lead to publishing.

Inter-disciplinary Conferences include:   

• NHS Education Scotland (NES)  
• NHS Scotland event  

Advanced Practice specific conferences:

• ACAP Scotland  ACAP Scotland – Advancing Care, Advancing Practice

ACAP Scotland host a dedicated research day to enable advanced practitioners to showcase and disseminate their research.

• International Council of Nurses Nurse Practitioner / Advanced Practice Nurse Network Conference ICN NP/APN (delegate-reg.co.uk)
• RCN Advanced Nurse Practitioner Forum Conference
• Association of Advanced Practice Educators UK AAPE
• NHS Health Education England Advancing practice conference - Advanced Practice (hee.nhs.uk)

Additionally, there are service specific conferences for example National Palliative Care Conference and Profession specific conferences.   

CAHPR have some useful tips on preparing abstracts and posters.  

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. It is worth finding out if there are any in your NHS Board.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have developed some helpful guidance on the benefits of communities and roles and responsibilities. The Knowledge Network also has some general information on communities of practice.

NHS Education England have an advanced practice community Join our Community of Practice on FutureNHS Platform - Advanced Practice (hee.nhs.uk)

• Gwyn Grout (2022) What are communities of practice? Nursing Older People 43,2,15-15. Doi:10.7748/nop.34.2.15s6

Policy engagement refers to influencing decision-makers. This influence can be at local, national and international level.  by often collaborating and engaging with the public, social care providers and third sector to inform and lead to public policy changes.

Advanced level practitioners have a great potential on influencing policy due to their expertise, leadership and knowledge.

Suggested resources to support policy engagement:

• Antonopoulou, V. et al. (2021) Research engagement with policy makers: a practical guide to writing policy briefs. NIHR Policy Research Unit in Behavioural Science. Pdf
• O'Connor, S (2017) Using social media to engage nurses in health policy development, Journal of Nursing Management, 25(8), 632-639. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12501. pdf
• Windle, A., and Arciuli, J. (2022). Research-policy engagement activities and research impact: nursing and health science researcher perspectives. Evidence & Policy [Online ahead of print] available from:  https://doi-org.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/10.1332/174426421X16645282386107> [Accessed 24 July 2023] pdf

To date, 2023, professional bodies are undertaking national consultations to explore advanced practice regulation and provide recommendations. If you are interested in participating in these debates, check the links to review the progress of these discussions.

NMC website:

Advanced practice review - The Nursing and Midwifery Council (nmc.org.uk)

HCPC website:

Advanced Practice Project: An update on important developments | (hcpc-uk.org)