Abstract
Purpose: Compare and contrast perspectives from Research Team Members (RT), Community Members (CM) and Service Providers/Others (SP/O) about barriers and facilitators to community engagement and participation in health research.
Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive survey study with a convenience sample of adults who lived and/or worked in the Commonwealth of Virginia was conducted between May and July 2022. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analyses were conducted to identify similarities and differences across the three stakeholder groups.
Results: A total of 303 participants were involved in this study. In general RTs, CMs and SP/Os were similar in their responses to perceived barriers and facilitators. Still, there were five items where there was a significant association between group membership and endorsement of a barrier or facilitator. CMs were most likely to endorse the barrier that research might cause harm and the fear that one could not quit a study. Conversely, RTs were the least likely to endorse the barrier that “they don’t understand the benefit of research to society”. Among the two significant facilitators, RTs were most likely to endorse researcher training to work with diverse communities. CMs were most likely to endorse training community members to be part of the research team.
Conclusion/Recommendations: Several priorities shared across all three groups as well as several divergences. To promote community trust and engagement and diversity in research participation, academic/clinical research institutions should reward community engagement activities as part of expected tenure/work achievements and dedicate funding for researcher/community member training and community-engaged advisory boards.
Recommended Citation
O'Brien, Anne-Marie and Wood, Elyssa
(2024)
"Enhancing Community Engagement: Perspectives from Researchers, Community Members, and Service Providers,"
Virginia Journal of Public Health: Vol. 8:
Iss.
2, Article 6.
Available at:
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/vjph/vol8/iss2/6