Community capacity building through human subjects protection training in Community -Based Participatory Research

Human subject protection training (HSPT) is a requirement of Institutional Review Boards for individuals who engage in research. The lack of HSPT among community partners may contribute to power imbalance between community and academic members of community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships. The Rochester Healthy Community Partnership (RHCP) is an established CBPR partnership in Minnesota who works primarily with immigrant populations. We describe the implementation and evaluation of HSPT among RHCP community partners. Seven community partner leaders (mean years since immigration=18) participated in HSPT through an RHCP-modified 8-hour Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative curriculum. Evaluation of program acceptability was measured through a 5-item survey (5-point Likert scales) adapted from the Ottawa Health Decisions Centre's manual. A focus group with all 7 participants was conducted to assess impact of training on perceptions of research, characteristics of a successful program, and potential value of training to CBPR partnerships. Coding and inductive analysis were done on the transcript with NVIVO-9 software. The HSPT program was highly acceptable (mean score= 4.5 ± 0.2). Focus groups revealed that the modified curriculum fostered an encouraging and safe environment, accommodated diverse learning styles, and promoted interaction. Participants reported improved trust in research as a result of the training. Perceived impact of the training on the CBPR partnership included improved transparency, enhanced camaraderie; furthermore, it established essential knowledge required for community leaders. HSPT is feasible among community members of a CBPR partnership, and may improve perceptions on research while strengthening capacity of partnerships to impact community health.