Tell it to Me Straight: The Benefits (and Struggles) of a Consumer-driven Assessment Process

Community-Partnered Research appraisal tool for conducting, reporting and assessing community-based research

Objective The aim of this study was to develop an appraisal tool to support and promote clear, accurate and transparent standards and consistency when conducting, reporting and assessing community-based research. Design Current recommendations for developing reporting guidelines was used with three key differences: (1) an analysis of existing guides, principles and published literature about community engagement, involvement and participation in research using situational and relational maps; (2) feedback and pilot-testing by a community-based research team; and (3) testing the utility and usability of the appraisal tool. Results After a series of iterative revisions, the resulting Community-Partnered Research (CPR) appraisal tool emerged into three products: an elaborate prospective format, a basic retrospective format, and a supplemental checklist format. All three versions of the CPR appraisal tool consist of 11 main question items with corresponding prompts aimed to facilitate awareness, accountability, and transparency about processes and practices employed by professional researchers and community co-researchers throughout four phases of research: (1) partnership and planning, (2) methods, (3) results and (4) sustainment. Conclusion We hope that introducing this tool will contribute to shifting individual and systematic processes and practices towards equitable partnerships, mutual trustworthiness and empowerment among professional researchers and community co-researchers and, in turn, improving the quality of co-created knowledge that benefits communities and creates social change.

"Give up your mic": Building capacity and sustainability within community-based participatory research initiatives

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships strive to promote community capacity building and sustainability, yet initiatives often suffer when grants or relationships with academic partners end. To address these concerns, researchers hoping to develop truly sustainable CBPR partnerships should consider factors that promote the development of community capacity and, ultimately, independence. In this first-person account, using perspectives gathered from FAVOR, a Connecticut-based family-led advocacy organization and an academic researcher, we examine the practices and experiences of the members of a CBPR partnership focused on using community voice to inform changes in the state's children's behavioral health system of care. These practices ultimately led to FAVOR developing the necessary skills to assume full ownership of the community data-gathering initiative, ensuring that the initiative would be sustained. Through the perspectives of five FAVOR staff and an academic researcher, we describe the factors that contributed to the organization being able to develop the capacity to independently continue their community data-gathering initiative, including description of the training process and staff members' perspectives on training, autonomy, community value, and lessons learned. We use these stories and experiences to provide recommendations for other partnerships striving to promote capacity building and sustainability through community ownership of the research process.

Utilizing a CBPR approach to assess the impact of COVID-19 on individuals who receive publicly funded behavioral health services

The coronavirus disease pandemic has highlighted significant gaps in community mental health services, placing vulnerable individuals at greater risk for mental health and substance use difficulties via disrupting their wellness journey. Guided by a wellness framework, a needs assessment was conducted among adult consumers of behavioral health services to understand their needs during the pandemic and to help develop and strengthen service delivery strategies. A team of three university researchers and four Consumer Researchers, who receive services at a publicly funded community mental health center, engaged in a community-based participatory project in which 13 focus groups were conducted with 51 consumers. Several themes emerged from a thematic analysis of transcripts regarding consumer well-being and healthcare needs, coping strategies employed, and the accessibility, benefits, and perception of clinical and support services during the pandemic. Results highlighted strengths in service delivery and areas in need of enhancement. Findings may inform similar community services that seek to enhance delivery of care among vulnerable populations.

Toward Integration of Life Course Intervention and Youth Participatory Action Research

We provide an overview of diverse forms of youth participation, with a focus on youth participatory action research (YPAR) and its synergies with life course intervention research to promote healthier development for young people and across the life span. We analyze why YPAR matters for research, practice, and policies related to the systems and settings in which young people develop. We also illustrate how young people perform YPAR work to improve the developmental responsiveness and equity of school and health systems, including descriptions of an innovative youth-led health center in Rwanda and a long-standing and evolving integration of YPAR into public high schools in the United States. We then briefly consider the adult capacities needed to do this work well, given that YPAR challenges typical youth-adult power relationships and broader assumptions about who can generate expert knowledge. We consider the alignment and potential challenges for integration of life course intervention research as well as YPAR and next steps for research and practice at this intersection.