Delivered by Publishing Technology to: University of Arizona IP: 117.253.218.170 on: Tue, 29 Mar 2016 08:26:57 Copyright (c) PNG Publications. All rights reserved. 64 Awareness and Adoption of a Nationally Disseminated Dietary Curriculum Marilyn S. Nanney, PhD, RD; Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD; Ross C. Brownson, PhD Jane Kostelc, MS; Mary Stephen, PhD; Michael Elliott, PhD Marilyn S. Nanney, Assistant Professor, Uni- versity of Utah, Department of Health Promotion and Education, Salt Lake City, UT. Debra Haire- Joshu, Professor; Ross C. Brownson, Professor, Department of Community Health, School of Pub- lic Health, Salus Center, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO. Jane Kostelc, Curriculum Devel- opment Manager, Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc., Saint Louis, MO. Mary Stephen, As- sociate Professor, Center for Teaching Excellence, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO. Michael Elliott, Assistant Professor, Department of Com- munity Health, School of Public Health, Salus Center, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO. Address correspondence to Dr Nanney, Univer- sity of Utah, Department of Health Promotion and Education, 1901 E. South Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. E-mail: susie.nanney@hsc.utah.edu Objective: To identify regional, or- ganizational, and personal charac- teristics that predict awareness and adoption of a dietary curriculum training and CD among educators. Methods: A cross-sectional study of educators (n=675) representing 48 states report program awareness and factors that influenced adop- tion. Results: Among those surveyed, 354 educators were aware (52%) of the CD and 192 educators adopted it (54%). Adopters were nearly 8 times more likely to identify training time and nearly 7 times more likely to identify CD training method as influ- encing adoption. Conclusion: Al- though regional and organizational characteristics are predictors of awareness, these variables were less likely to predict adoption of such programs. Key words: dissemination, di- etary intervention, diffusion of innovation, awareness, adoption Am J Health Behav. 2007;31(1):64-73 A critical shortfall exists within health promotion research whereby the majority of published studies repre- sent knowledge discovery and develop- ment and few are devoted to distribution of findings and practical application. 1,2 Experts within the field of health promo- tion define the process of translating re- search to practice by stage along a con- tinuum. 3 For example, Oldenburg and col- leagues identify initial stages as research and innovation development and latter stages as diffusion and institutionaliza- tion research. 4 In an evaluation of pub- lished health promotion studies during 1994 among 12 high-profile journals, less than 11% were devoted to the advanced stages of dissemination or institutional- ization. 4 The aim of this manuscript is to contribute to the sparse dissemination literature by shedding light upon regional, organizational, and personal characteris- tics that predict awareness and adoption of an effective dietary change program of- fered through a national training center. Project Background High 5, Low Fat (H5LF) was developed in partnership between PAT National Train- ing Center and Saint Louis University School of Public Health in response to a call for innovative programs to address the diet-related cancer disparities among African Americans (1996-2000). A key factor in the development of H5LF was to