If Every American Tried to Eat According to the Dietary Guidelines, Could They? Using Digital and Social Media to Share Information About the U.S. Food Supply

Background: The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) mission is to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and application of childhood obesity research. To have measureable impact, research findings need to reach and resonate with the individuals and institutions that can drive change. Through NCCOR, FHI 360 used digital and social media to translate and disseminate research applications of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) for researchers, practitioners, and decision makers. This effort is an example of how innovative communication tools can help researchers transmit research findings beyond scientific journal articles and conferences. 

Program background:This poster will illustrate how FHI 360 used communication tools and technologies to explain cutting edge research and assist researchers with highlighting changes needed to enable healthier food choices for all Americans.   The HEI is a tool designed to measure how closely an eating pattern or mix of foods matches the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an NCCOR partner, conducted a study using the HEI-2010 to examine the U.S. food supply. They found that the food supply is not sufficiently balanced to provide the recommended amounts of various nutrients. The findings have been submitted to the Journal of Nutrition. FHI 360 helped illustrate the publication’s findings using multiple formats to shed light on the problem, suggest solutions, and encourage dialogue. The products created offer limitless dissemination possibilities and allow researchers and others to: complement current and future research; enhance presentations; build influence in social media platforms; and engage decision makers poised to make change. The first phase of the project launched April 2013 and included:

• An HEI webpage (http://nccor.org/projects/hei), which serves as a platform for the materials
• An animated video that distills research findings in an engaging, shareable format
• A fact sheet that explains the HEI scoring metric in detail
• A series of four infographics that complement the video

FHI 360 is promoting the work using the NCCOR blog, e-newsletter, Twitter and YouTube, and will share the package with research organizations, professional associations, and the media. 

Evaluation Methods and Results: FHI 360 will use Google analytics to track unique users and HEI webpage hits and video downloads. Through “retweets” and “mentions” on Twitter and pitching of the content to various outlets, we can track its reach. During the soft launch of the webpage, the video was picked up the SaludToday blog. We anticipate that NCCOR funders will report an increased interest in the HEI tool among obesity researchers and others.

Conclusions: This suite of communication products shows how digital and social media can be used to complement and enhance research efforts. As researchers apply the HEI in other contexts, innovative communication approaches can move the needle, educating audiences and encouraging action. 

Implications for research and/or practice: Translation and dissemination of research findings are critical for driving change around a host of health prevention topics. Video, infographics and social media are powerful tools that can help ensure scientific findings are accessible and useful to researchers, opinion leaders, and decision makers.