Engaging a Community Advisory Board to Inform an Exercise Intervention in Older African-American Couples

This paper describes our approach to forming and engaging a community advisory board (CAB) to assist in the development of a proposed exercise intervention pilot study. The intervention aimed to examine the effects of exercise on exercise adherence, the provision of partner support and receptivity to partner health influence, and cardiometabolic risk in older African-American romantic couples. CAB invitations were extended to local community members and leaders who had a stake in the health of the target population. Seven individuals accepted the invitation and attended at least one of two CAB meetings during which we proposed ideas for the exercise intervention pilot study, then solicited CAB input in four key areas related to the study including: (1) priority health concerns of the target population, (2) the intervention protocol and methodologies, (3) cultural relevance, and (4) sustainability. Two investigators jointly led both CAB meetings, which lasted approximately 3 h each. Recorded community feedback was summarized and coded using a thematic analysis approach. Themes were identified and agreed upon within the four areas identified above. Overall, the proposed study was well-received by the CAB and considered beneficial for and relevant to the target population. Although not all suggestions put forth by the CAB were feasible given the inherent limitations of pilot work, we made multiple study modifications as a result of CAB recommendations. Further, all CAB feedback helped inform plans to launch the intervention on a larger scale and were vital in ensuring that the pilot study was valued in the local community. Although community-based participatory research that originates within a community may be preferable, we demonstrate the utility of a community-partnered approach to intervention design in a vulnerable population. This model could assist researchers who wish to engage the local community to help develop a preliminary idea for a health-related intervention.