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545 Factors that impact the success of community-engaged research: perspectives from experienced researchers and community partners

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2024

Zoe Mele
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Anne Mook
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Jeni Cross
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
Sarah Hamm-Alvarez
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Kayla de la Haye
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
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Abstract

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OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Involving community partners in translational research improves impact. Yet, community-engaged research is challenging, and teams vary in their success. This study builds the evidence of key barriers and facilitators to effective community-engaged team science by drawing on the perspectives of seasoned researchers and community partners. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We conducted 3 focus groups with academic researchers (n=9) and 2 focus groups with community research partners (n=8). All participants were adults from the Southern California area, and had experience working on research teams that included academics and community partners. The focus group guide included questions about the participant’s experience with community-engaged research, including the value of these partnerships, examples of success and challenges, and opportunities for improvement. Transcriptions of the focus group recordings were analyzed to identify key themes and insights, and to explore similarities and differences between academic and community participant perspectives. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Both researchers and community partners saw the potential value of participating in community-engaged research. However, they identified challenges to address, including: 1) Community partners should be invited to participate in early stages of the research process as equal partners to help frame the objectives. 2) Community partner’s knowledge should be valued through the use of their ideas and input, and providing monetary compensation for their time. 3) Academic researchers should aim to build long-term meaningful relationships with the community and build cultural competency (language, culture, and trust). 4) Community partners should be closely involved with the interpretation of results to confirm accuracy and identify valuable insights, and these contributions should be acknowledged. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Community partners being undervalued is a central challenge of community-engaged research teams. Greater adoption of best practices in team science could empower community partners and increase the value of this research. Structural barriers related to research funding and academic promotion should align to support these efforts.

Type
Team Science
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. The Association for Clinical and Translational Science