Training intervention study participants to disseminate health messages to the community: a new model for translation of clinical research to the community.

Peer education offers a novel strategy for the translation of health promotion interventions in hard-to-reach communities. We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of a program where research participants from a cardiovascular risk reduction intervention were invited to be trained as peer educators. The goal of the "Heart-to-Heart" intervention was to promote healthy behaviors among peers to reduce cardiovascular disease risk. We recruited and trained 32 peer educators from a rural, Midwestern community to implement the program, and 18 educators reached 175 women and men. A mixed-method analysis revealed that those who opted to become peer educators were more likely to be African American than participants of the study population from which they were recruited. Peer educators reported positive assessments of their encounters with respect to preparation and confidence, as well as reinforced personal health behaviors. Peer educators' success was evident in reports from the individuals they reached, who reported learning new concepts and intention to change behavior. Interviews with peer educators revealed their motivations, peer education barriers, and recommendations. The Heart-to-Heart model for training research participants to serve as peer educators to disseminate behavior change messages warrants further investigation as a strategy for the translation of research to communities.