The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #68916

Shawna L. Mercer, PhD¹, Margaret A. Potter, JD², Lawrence W. Green, DrPH¹, Elvis E. Fraser, PhD³, Kimberley D. Coleman, PhD³, and Jennifer K. French, BA³. (1) PHPPO, Office of Extramural Prevention Research, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, MS K56, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-8475, SMercer@cdc.gov, (2) Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Center for Public Health Practice, 3109 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, (3) The Academy for Educational Development, 1825 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, DC 20009

Funding agencies are increasingly interested in the promise of community-based participatory research for producing results of direct relevance to intended users and beneficiaries of the research. Yet, funders’ typical structuring of grant programs may be challenged by inherent characteristics of participatory research related to engaging community partners throughout the research process. The largest grouping to date of federally-funded participatory research grants comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Extramural Prevention Research Program. Of the 55 projects funded in the first round of the EPRP, half used participatory research approaches. The purpose of this study was to learn from the principal investigators (PIs) of these projects how CDC and other funders can better support participatory research. Individual semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with the PIs and studied using thematic analyses in order to identify barriers to completing participatory projects as specified in their applications for funding. These included the need to maintain flexibility in methods and design according to community changes; time and resource costs for ongoing training and capacity building of community members; the impact on timelines of engaging the community throughout the research process; and the budgetary implications of involving multiple partners. PIs suggested that funders might better support participatory research by making explicit how mid-course changes would affect a project’s evaluation, and providing training for peer reviewers about participatory research and funders’ expectations. These findings suggest how funders could modify their grantmaking processes and other supportive activities to promote successful outcomes of participatory research.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
• recognize the particular characteristics of participatory research approaches that challenge the typical structuring of grant programs by funding agencies.
• describe barriers and assets to principal investigators and their partners being able to complete their participatory research projects as they specified in their applications for funding.
• engage in dialogue about concrete measures that funding agencies could take to promote successful funding and completion of participatory research.

Keywords: Participatory Research, Funding

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.