Hispanic Community-Engaged Research: Community Partners as Our Teachers to Improve Diabetes Self-Management

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a strategy often employed to address public health priorities. We explored how to build effective, trusting relationships with key community stakeholders and a group of Hispanic/Latinos with type 2 diabetes (T2D) to develop culturally appropriate projects.

In the process of implementing a Patient-Centered Outcome Research Initiative (PCORI) award, our Community Advisory Board (CAB) met monthly to develop a set of comparative effectiveness research questions along with the interventions to develop specific strategies to improve Hispanic/Latino individuals' self-management of T2D. An agenda was prepared for each meeting targeting the PCORI grant timeline. Notes were taken during these meetings and analyzed to determine effective strategies.

Ten strategies were identified that led to the success of this CBPR project and to the current sustainability phase. Instrumental to our success was our partnership with a community health worker (CHW) who co-lead this research project. The CHW and CAB individualized general CBPR strategies to make this project successful in their community.

Our community partners became influential knowledge holders throughout this research process. They improved researchers' understanding of how to address the needs of Hispanic/Latino individuals with T2D and how community members could become leaders within their community.