141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

285483
Community-research partnerships: Importance of research capacity to address research skill-related power differentials

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 2:44 PM - 2:58 PM

Debbie Humphries, PhD, MPH , School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Amy Carroll-Scott, PhD, MPH , School of Public Health, Community Alliance for Research and Engagement, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Terry Tian, MPH , Weitzman Quality Institute, Community Health Center, Inc., Middletown, CT
Shonali M. Choudhury, PhD, MMH , School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL
Leif Mitchell , Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
David Fiellin, MD , Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Background. Community-based organizations (CBOs) are essential partners in community-engaged research. Yet little is known about their research capacity, and no validated or standard capacity measures exist. Our purpose was to pilot the Community REsearch Activity assessment Tool (CREAT), a multi-domain CBO research capacity survey designed to assess organizational research experience, activities, and needs. Methods. Thirty-minute interviewer-administered quantitative surveys were conducted with executive directors of 26 CBOs and 4 local health departments affiliated with an HIV/AIDS community-academic partnership program (>95% response rate). Simple descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted. Results. Although only 5 of 30 organizations had successfully received research grant funding as lead organizations, 87% of the respondents reported that research is important to the work of their organization. 70% reported research is integrated into the work of the organization. 60% reported they are “very interested” in strengthening research capacity. 97% had worked with external researchers. Those who reported working with researchers as equal partners (66%) were more likely to have submitted research grants as the lead organization (26% vs. 0%; p=0.098) and to have co-authored a research grant for <$0,000 (78.9% vs. 40%; p=0.047). Conclusions. Results revealed that many CBOs with non-research missions see research as important to the work of their organizations, engage in research partnerships, and are interested in building research capacity. This presentation will discuss implications for addressing CBO research capacity needs, equitable and effective community-academic research partnerships, and future instrument validity testing.

Learning Areas:
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe the importance of better understanding community-based organization (CBO) capacity to engage in research that supports their mission to improve community health. Highlight research activities of CBOs who have ongoing research partnerships. Discuss importance of assessing capacity of CBO and academic partners for conducting collaborative research to support effective community-academic research partnerships, community health assessments, and community health improvements.

Keywords: Community Research, Community Capacity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conceived of the CREAT project, participated in drafting and developing the CREAT framework and survey tool, assisted with the statistical analyses from the pilot study, and prepared the results.
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.