Strayer, Thomas E.Balis, Laura E.Ramalingam, NithyaPriya S.Harden, Samantha M.2022-12-222022-12-222022-12-12Strayer, T.E., III; Balis, L.E.; Ramalingam, N.S.; Harden, S.M. Dissemination in Extension: Health Specialists' Information Sources and Channels for Health Promotion Programming. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 16673.http://hdl.handle.net/10919/112980In the National Cooperative Extension System (herein: Extension), state-level specialists serve as key intermediaries between research, educators, and the community members they serve. There is a need to understand information seeking and sharing practices (i.e., dissemination) among specialists to increase the adoption of evidence-based health promotion programs. Specialists (<i>N</i> = 94) across 47 states were identified and invited to participate in this mixed methods study. A one-way ANOVA with Bonferroni corrections was used to analyze survey data. Data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using an immersion crystallization approach. Forty-seven health specialists completed the survey representing 31 eligible states (65%) and were predominately female (89%), Caucasian (70%), had a doctorate (62%), and were employed within Extension for 10.2 + 9.7 years. The information sources used most frequently were academic journals and other specialists, and most used email and online meetings to communicate. Qualitative findings support the use of other specialists as a primary source of information and indicate specialists&rsquo; desire for an on-demand, bi-directional, online national repository of Extension programs. This repository would facilitate the dissemination of evidence-based programming across the system and reduce program duplication as well as information burden on county-based educators.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalCooperative Extensionhealth promotiondisseminationdiffusion of innovationsmixed-methodstranslational scienceArticle - Refereed2022-12-22https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416673