Examining the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of Remote Training on Community-Based Participatory...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Implementation Science
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Community engagement in research enhances relevance, uptake, and clinical outcomes.
• Psychiatry training often lacks dedicated coursework on community engagement methodologies.
• Integrating community engagement is crucial for advancing mental health research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of a remote, 3-month training program in community-based participatory research (CBPR).
• To evaluate the impact of CBPR training on research engagement, partnership quality, and scholarly output.
• To explore the experiences of diverse participants including service users, peer support specialists, caregivers, and scientists.

Main Methods:

• A pilot study involving 13 participants (service users, peer specialists, caregivers, scientists) aged 18+.
• Remote, 3-month training in community-based participatory research (CBPR).
• Data collection at baseline, 2 days, and 3 months post-training.

Main Results:

• The 3-month remote CBPR training was feasible and acceptable to all participant groups.
• Significant improvements were observed in research engagement and partnership quality.
• Participants submitted 4 grant applications and 1 peer-reviewed publication within 3 months.
• A notable increase in distrust towards the medical system was reported by participants.

Conclusions:

• Training diverse groups in CBPR is achievable through remote, structured programs.
• The "Partnership Academy" demonstrates feasibility and acceptability for CBPR training.
• The training shows potential for improving research engagement, partnership quality, and scholarly output in mental health research.