Download Diffusion of Innovations: A Research Model for Spreading New Ideas and Behaviors and more Study Guides, Projects, Research English Language in PDF only on Docsity! WHAT IS DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS? Diffusion of Innovations is a research model that describes how a new idea, product or positive health behavior spreads through a community or social structure. The model identifies several factors that influence how quickly an idea or behavior is adopted. The adoption of a new idea (or diffusion of an innovation) depends on characteristics of the innovation, communication channels, time and the social system. This model highlights the uncertainties associated with new behaviors and helps public health program implementers consider ways to resolve these uncertainties. Figure 1 represents the diffusion S-curve. The curve illustrates how people are initially slow to adopt new behaviors, but as the behavior becomes better known and accepted, more people quickly start to practice it. Eventually the behavior becomes commonplace with fewer new adopters. The model’s founder, Everett Rogers, considered this S-curve the best depiction of how innovations are diffused through a social system. A closer look at the diffusion curve shows how the different characteristics of the model (innovation, channel, time and social system) can influence the path to adoption. The horizontal x-axis represents the time it takes to adopt an innovation, while the vertical y-axis is the percentage of people in a community who have adopted the innovation. The more time passes, the more people are likely to adopt an innovation in a close-knit community. At the outset, fewer people are trusting of the innovation and the percentage of adoption is low. More popular innovations will have steeper curves, while those innovations that are slow to adopt will have flatter curves. Communication channels can also influence how quickly an idea is shared in a community. Effective communication can help an innovation become more popular, also making a steeper curve. Implementers can track the progress of their social and behavior change communication campaigns and other interventions by creating similar graphs as results of the program reach are evaluated. Ideally, program implementers are seeking to make the graph narrower and taller – reaching more people, quickly. WHEN SHOULD THE DIFFUSION OF INNOVATIONS MODEL BE USED? Consider using the Diffusion of Innovations model for interventions that have a limited amount of time to make an impact on entire communities. Diffusion of Innovations approaches work best when applied to issues that can be influenced by prominent members of society or spread through traditional methods of communication. WHAT SHOULD IMPLEMENTERS KNOW? The characteristics of an innovation or health behavior will influence how rapidly it can be adopted. Some innovations quickly become popular, while others require more explanation and practice before they are popularized. Figure 2 describes the main characteristics of an innovation, as well as their meaning for program implementation. As people become more familiar with an innovation, they are more likely to adopt it. Diffusion of Innovations An HC3 Research Primer HEALTH COMMUNICATION CAPACITY COLLABORATIVE H Figure 1. The Diffusion Curve Pe rc en t of a do pt io n Time 100%
