Recorded presentation

Margaret Potter, JD, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Center for Public Health Practice, 3109 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, Shawna L. Mercer, PhD, Office of the Chief of Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway N.E., MS K56, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-8475, SMercer@cdc.gov, Erika Reed, MHS, Westat, 2971 Flowers Road, Suite 180, Ogelthorpe Building, Atlanta, GA 30341, Lawrence W. Green, DrPH, University of California at Berkeley, 66 Santa Paula Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127, and Giovonna Miller, MPH, Partnership to Prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Westat, 1650 Research Blvd., Rockville, MD 20850.

Community-based research (CBR) has received strong endorsement from the Institute of Medicine and increasing financial support from governmental and private funders. Participatory research (PAR)—a type of CBR in which the intended users of research themselves engage in the research process—has received particular attention, given its promise for producing research with immediate relevance for communities. Nevertheless, whether faculty members engage in CBR depends in part upon whether this research is rewarded in the academic promotion and tenure system. This system is based on academic productivity, which can be defined as one’s publication record, teaching effectiveness, and relevant scholarly service. The purpose of this study was to document the perceptions of researchers who received peer-reviewed funding for CBR as to whether and how their projects contributed to academic productivity. Individual semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted at the end of the three year funding period with the 54 principal investigators (PIs) funded through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Extramural Prevention Research Program. Content and thematic analyses revealed marked dichotomies between PIs conducting PAR and non-PAR studies. PIs conducting PAR described the enrichment of their teaching and opportunities for meaningful service. PIs conducting PAR also identified concerns for publication productivity due to the long duration of studies and to a limited number of prestigious journals. This study suggests that criteria and processes for academic promotion and tenure may require modification to assure that faculty members have appropriate encouragement and rewards to engage in important community-based and participatory research.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the potential contributions of community-based research to academic productivity as measured by publications, teaching, and scholarly service..
• Distinguish "participatory" research from other kinds of community-based, prevention-oriented research
• Analyze perceptions among principal investigators about the academic productivity of their peer-reviewed and funded community-based research projects based on whether their approaches had been "participatory" or "non-participatory."
• Assess whether currently prevailing academic policies for promotion and tenure are sufficiently supportive of faculty members who use participatory and other community-based approaches to research.

Keywords: Community Participation, Practice-Based Research

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.

Recorded presentation