• Rachel G Tabak, Margaret M Padek, Jon F Kerner, Kurt C Stange, Enola K Proctor, Maureen J Dobbins, Graham A Colditz, David A Chambers, and Ross C Brownson.
• Prevention Research Center in St. Louis, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. Electronic address: rtabak@wustl.edu.
• Am J Prev Med. 2017 Mar 1; 52 (3 Suppl 3): S322S329S322-S329.

IntroductionDissemination and implementation research training has great potential to improve the impact and reach of health-related research; however, research training needs from the end user perspective are unknown. This paper identifies and prioritizes dissemination and implementation research training needs.MethodsA diverse sample of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers was invited to participate in Concept Mapping in 2014-2015. Phase 1 (Brainstorming) gathered participants' responses to the prompt: To improve the impact of research evidence in practice and policy settings, a skill in which researchers need more training is… The resulting statement list was edited and included subsequent phases. Phase 2 (Sorting) asked participants to sort each statement into conceptual piles. In Phase 3 (Rating), participants rated the difficulty and importance of incorporating each statement into a training curriculum. A multidisciplinary team synthesized and interpreted the results in 2015-2016.ResultsDuring Brainstorming, 60 researchers and 60 practitioners/policymakers contributed 274 unique statements. Twenty-nine researchers and 16 practitioners completed sorting and rating. Nine concept clusters were identified: Communicating Research Findings, Improve Practice Partnerships, Make Research More Relevant, Strengthen Communication Skills, Develop Research Methods and Measures, Consider and Enhance Fit, Build Capacity for Research, and Understand Multilevel Context. Though researchers and practitioners had high agreement about importance (r =0.93) and difficulty (r =0.80), ratings differed for several clusters (e.g., Build Capacity for Research).ConclusionsIncluding researcher and practitioner perspectives in competency development for dissemination and implementation research identifies skills and capacities needed to conduct and communicate contextualized, meaningful, and relevant research.Copyright © 2016 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

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