Comprehensive strategy for capturing and integrating community input into community research training curricula

Area of Science:

• Community-based participatory research
• Health equity research
• Academic-community partnerships

Background:

• Community stakeholders are integral to developing research training curricula.
• Limited understanding exists on how stakeholder input shapes these curricula.
• This study details methods for soliciting and integrating stakeholder feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe methods used to gather input from community members (CMs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) for research training curricula development.
• To analyze the types of input received and how it influenced curriculum design.
• To provide examples of integrating stakeholder feedback into training materials.

Main Methods:

• Utilized diverse engagement strategies including retreats, surveys, listening sessions, workgroups, and studios from June 2014 to June 2016.
• Collected input from 37 CMs (patients, caregivers) and 83 CBOs (advocacy, service, faith-based organizations).
• Employed descriptive statistics for survey data and qualitative analysis of facilitator notes for other engagement methods.

Main Results:

• Key feedback categories included training topics, preferred formats (online vs. face-to-face), logistics, and compensation.
• Stakeholder input directly informed the design of CM and CBO curricula, such as adjusting time allocation for specific topics.
• Feedback was crucial in finalizing logistical aspects of the training programs.

Conclusions:

• Multiple methods, both quantitative and qualitative, effectively gather community stakeholder input for research training curricula.
• Integrating this input is vital for creating culturally relevant and acceptable training programs.
• This approach enhances the relevance and effectiveness of community research training.