Invest with Us

Fund science-based behavior change.

For ten years, dfusion has:

Received innovation funding from a variety of federal funders to develop more than 20 prototypes and products.

Iteratively developed and tested a host of digital products to improve health, education, and well-being.

Engaged dozens of community advisory board members, led more than 100 focus groups and usability interviews, and conducted hundreds of expert interviews as part of our formative research and community engagement activities.

We combine expert project management skills with innovative ideas to uniquely solve public health and education challenges, create award-winning products, and ensure positive client experiences.

"The premise is strong, theory-based and well argued: sexual behavioral change can be induced in this high-risk population with the right combination of remote, interactive educational and social learning strategies. The project was considered innovative in employing mHealth strategies with this elusive population. The app provides innovation on several levels."

NIH Review Group

"The input from individuals with disabilities, and other stakeholders are used to guide the development activities. Panel agreed that there is strong input from individuals with ASD [autism spectrum disorder] and other stakeholders, and found it particularly commendable that actors with the ASD would be used in the videos."

NIDILRR Review Group

"The two Principal Investigators have significant experience and expertise in behavioral health intervention research, development of effective HIV interventions, translation of effective HIV interventions into technology-based programs, commercialization of science-based technology, and evaluation."

NIH Review Group

"Use of both focus groups in the target population as well as an additional advisory panel ensures that the content has the best chance of engaging the target population, and demonstrates a sensitivity to the niche needs that is the focus of the project."

NIH Review Group

"The investigators, collaborators and advisory panel members are leaders in the development of effective HIV prevention programs, mobile health applications, and evaluation, including YBMSM."

NIH Review Group

Our Process

At dfusion, everything we do is process oriented, evaluated, grounded in best practices, and built using the best-fitting technologies–be they classic or cutting edge. Our process includes:

Conceptualization

Discovery

Content & Tech Development

Iterative Design

Prototype Development

UX & Pilot Testing

Evaluation

Launch

Our Work in Action

Spotlight on SkillFlix^® for Educators

Challenge

Educational systems and community-based organizations need effective, time-efficient, and reasonably priced training to build and support educators’ skills to effectively and comfortably teach sexuality education to young people.

Approach

SkillFlix for Educators is a streaming video training platform designed to help educators remotely develop skills to effectively and comfortably facilitate sexuality education, regardless of their curriculum. This training resource is program agnostic and can support abstinence-oriented education as well as comprehensive education. The training uses short videos that model skills done well. The skills are broken down into Microskills^®, each delineated by observable step-by-step instructions. SkillFlix aligns with National Sex Education Standards and is grounded in science. SkillFlix for Educators is currently being evaluated in two randomized controlled trials – one focused on educator skills, the other student outcomes.

Outcomes

Better-trained sex educators mean young people are more likely to have positive health outcomes and safer more enjoyable school experiences.

Results from pilot testing of the SkillFlix training show that educators demonstrate significant improvement in integrating and successfully using two skills: (1) correct implementation of LGBTQ inclusivity; and (2) answering of sensitive questions. Educators’ perceived skill levels also increased significantly after using SkillFlix (Reynolds et al., 2021; Firpo-Triplett et al., 2023).

Firpo-Triplett, R., Kuhn, T., Edwards, L., & Akers, D. D. (2023). Video-based microskills training for educators: The future of training. In W. J. Taverner (Ed.), Sex education research: A look between the sheets (pp. 260-272). Routledge.

Reynolds, L., Dull Akers, D., Hoffman Lucas, B., Kuhn, T., & Firpo-Triplett, R. (2021). Breaking down the skills: Designing and pilot-testing a video-based microskills training for sexual health educators. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 16(1), 57-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2020.1856745

Certifications, Awards & Honors

WOSB Designation

We are a Small Business Administration certified women owned and operated small business (WOSB). We’re ready to partner with organizations seeking WOSB set-aside awardees and contractors.

NAICS Codes

Our work best reflects the primary NAICS code of Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720). Other relevant 541611 codes include:

541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
541618 Other Management Consulting Services
541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services
541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services

Awards/Honors

dfusion has received two health information awards:

In 2021, SkillFlix for Parents won the Gold for the National Health Information Awards.
In 2018, ConDEMO was a winner of the National Health Information Award.

Patents

dfusion holds three patents for the SkillFlix® training technology which uses Microskills® modeling videos for teaching complex and sensitive communication skills and other skills (15/916,247, 17/224,423, 17/228,658).