Online Program

292452
Evaluation of community-academic partnerships after participation in an intensive CBPR training program


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Juliana Elizabeth Van Olphen, PhD, MPH, Health Education, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
Senaida Fernandez, PhD, California Breast Cancer Research Program, University of California, Office of the President, Oakland, CA
Marj Plumb, DrPH, Plumbline Coaching and Consulting, Inc., Berkeley, CA
Heather Sarantis, Health and Environment, Commonweal, Bolinas, CA
Catherine Thomsen, MPH, California Breast Cancer Research Program, University of California, Office of the President, Oakland, CA
Emily Galpern, MPH, Plumbline Coaching and Consulting, Inc., Berkeley, CA
Mhel Kavanaugh-lynch, MD, MPH, California Breast Cancer Research Program, University of California, Office of the President, Oakland, CA
Scientists suspect that up to 70% of breast cancer (BC) could have an environmental cause, yet the link between BC and the environment and social disparities in BC has been inadequately researched. CRIBS (Building Sustainable Community-Based Research Infrastructure to Better Science), an NIEHS-funded partnership aimed to stimulate community-based participatory research (CBPR) and address these gaps in BC research. The partnership grew out of long-standing collaborations among the California Breast Cancer Research Program of the University of California, Plumbline Consulting and Coaching, and Commonweal. In January 2012, twelve community-academic teams from across California were chosen in a competitive application to begin an intensive training program (ITP) that included face-to-face training, online training in a web-supported learning community, mock grant review, and technical assistance. We describe the qualitative evaluation of the CRIBS ITP Program and the partnerships. In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 participants: 18 community and 13 academic partners. Interview data were analyzed using ATLASti and standard qualitative methods. Participants reported benefitting most from the face-to-face training and the mock review; both academic and community partners gained important knowledge about BC science and about CBPR. Most felt that the time spent with their team during the face-to-face training was critical to developing their partnership, and many community members felt empowered. As one participant who had felt voiceless in previous research projects said, “I now understand, as a community member, my role is just as important as the researcher.” Implications for training and funding for CBPR will be discussed.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
List the strengths and challenges of CBPR training for community-academic teams. Describe methods in the qualitative evaluation of a CBPR training program. Describe methods in the qualitative evaluation of community-academic partnerships.

Keyword(s): Community-Based Partnership, Breast Cancer

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the External Evaluator of the CRIBS Training Program and led the evaluation activities described in this presentation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.