Utilizing a structured community-based participatory research approach to design web resources: Www.PLANETMassCONECT.org

Capacity-building efforts targeting practitioners increasingly rely on websites and other new media, but there is little guidance to effectively create resources for specific community needs/settings. Using Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles, we developed a structured collaborative process to incorporate community perspectives throughout the lifecourse of web resource development.

PLANET MassCONECT, a NIH-funded program to test a novel method of dissemination in community settings, is a partnership among researchers/staff at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and four community coalitions in Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, Massachusetts. The intervention includes: (a) capacity-building through the iCHPP (Institute for Community Health Program Planning) workshop, (b) grant opportunities, and c) a tool kit, including a resource-rich web portal (www.PLANETMassCONECT.org).

Portal development was a collaborative effort of the Community Projects Advisory Committee (C-PAC), which includes community partners, researchers, and study staff. Several stages of feedback (Winter 2009/Spring 2010) encouraged organic development of intervention products. First, the C-PAC reviewed “wireframes” (portal mock-ups), which drove content changes, e.g., tone and literacy level, and increased emphasis on practice. Second, usability testing of an early version of the portal improved navigability and layout. Third, the group reviewed the redesigned portal before the website was launched. The portal continues to be revised based on community feedback and ownership will transition to the coalitions at the end of the grant.

Preliminary data suggest that trainees are extremely satisfied with the web portal, highlighting the benefits of using a structured approach to collaborative development of intervention products, particularly those involving web-based resources.