Challenges and Facilitating Factors in Conducting Community-Based Research BARBARA A. ISRAEL, AMY J. SCHULTZ, EDITH A. PARKER, AND ADAM B. BECKER BY: KATY HOWE

Community Research in Public Health “Focuses on social, structural, and physical environmental inequities through active involvement of community members, organizational representatives, and researchers in all aspects of the research process.”

Outline Issues related to developing community partnerships Challenges Facilitating factors, lessons learned, and recommendations Methodological issues involved in community-based research Challenges Facilitating factors, lessons learned, and recommendations

Lack of trust and respect Most frequently mentioned challenge Inequitable distribution of power and control Community members skeptical of the potential to be “equal partners” Distribution of information, time, education, and income reflect social inequalities structured around gender, class, and race/ethnicity Partnership Related Challenges

Conflicts associated with differences in perspectives, priorities, assumptions, values, and language Can occur between members within the same organization or across organizations Conflicts over funding Questions of how funds are distributed, and how budget-related decisions are made are common sources of conflict between partners Partnership Related Challenges Cont.

Conflicts associated with different emphases on task and process Time-consuming process Who represents the community and how is community defined? Several issues can exist: The extent to which a sense of community exists Competition or turf issues between community-based organizations and community groups Partnership Related Challenges Cont.

Partnership Related Facilitating Factors, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations Jointly developed operating norms Deciding how decisions are made should be developed and agreed upon by its members not imposed on a partnership Identification of common goals and objectives Democratic Leadership

Partnership Related Facilitating Factors, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations Cont. Presence of community organizer Able to bring people together in the community Has a history of community involvement Respected as a leader in the community Involvement of support staff/team “Glue” to keep the research partnership together Researcher role, skills, and competencies Contribute expertise while recognizing the expertise of others Spend time with the community that may not be directly related to the research effort

Partnership Related Facilitating Factors, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations Cont. Prior history of positive working relationships Identifying participants based on pre-existing trusting relationships Identification of key community members Involving community members who have credibility and visibility and who are well-ingrained in their community All recommendations should be seen as interrelated, not as separate entities

Methodological Challenges Questions of scientific quality of the research Proving intervention success Inability to fully specify all aspects of research up-front Challenge of selling a process without completely specifying the outcome beforehand

Methodological Challenges Cont. Seeking balance between research and action Time demands Interpreting and integrating data from multiple sources

Methodological Facilitating Factors, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations Methodological flexibility and different criteria for judging quality Use methods that are tailored to the purpose of the research Multiple sources of data, methods, and investigators Involvement of community members in research activities Conduct Community assessment and diagnosis Ongoing analysis of community strengths, resources, structure, and dynamics

Methodological Facilitating Factors, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations Cont. Development of jointly agreed upon research principles Conduct educational forums and training opportunities Involve partners in the publishing process Create interdisciplinary research teams

Activity Community: Low income families living in the food deserts Health issue: Food insecurity Research focus: Effects of an intervention to offer mobile markets to sell produce and healthy prepared foods Break up into groups of 3-4 and discuss potential challenges with conducting research in this community and how to overcome them