2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Recorded Annual Meeting Presentations (RAMP) are now available for purchase.
Only $90 for presenters, $140 for registered attendees and $200 for non-attendees.

Online Program

329364
Evaluating the impact of community-engaged research partnerships on communities


Monday, November 2, 2015

Ellen Wolter, MPH, MPA, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Office of Community Engagement for Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Deborah Hendricks, RN, MPH, Office of Community Engagement for Health, University of Minnesota, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Minneapolis, MN
Bernard L. Harlow, Ph.D., School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, MA
Sheila Riggs, DDS, DMSc, Office of Community Engagement for Health and School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Minneapolis, MN
Background:  Community-academic partnerships that support community-engaged research efforts continue to rise.  Since 2010, the University of Minnesota Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s (UMN CTSI) Community Health Collaborative grant program has awarded funding to support community-academic research partnerships with potential to impact practice and policy changes that improve population health.  However, limited program evaluation exists to describe whether and how projects resulting from community-academic research partnerships result in tangible benefits to communities.  The UMN CTSI conducted an evaluation of 23 funded community-academic partnerships and their resulting community engaged research projects.  The evaluation reviewed partnership characteristics and how partnerships’ research findings were translated into practical steps including policy and best practice changes.

Methods:  Evaluators conducted a retrospective evaluation using a mixed-method approach to gather descriptive information about partnership methods and project impact from community and university co-PIs.  Community and university co-PIs separately completed a survey and participated in a semi-structured interview to describe their research partnership methods, their process for translating research outcomes into community benefits, and their project’s tangible benefit to communities. 

Results:  Findings reveal diverse community-academic partnership types and methods.  Co-PIs identified benefits to communities including best practice changes, statewide health care legislation and policy changes related to diverse health issues.  Additional benefits include building community organizations’ reputations and sustained research partnerships. 

Conclusions:  These findings contribute to strengthening the science of community-engaged research by illuminating characteristics of community-academic partnerships that resulted in tangible benefits to communities.

Learning Areas:

Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Describe characteristics of successful community-academic research partnerships that resulted in tangible benefits for communities. Describe examples of community impact that resulted due to community-engaged research projects conducted by community-academic partners. Discuss methods based on real-world examples for translating research outcomes into practice using a community-academic partnership.

Keyword(s): Community-Based Partnership & Collaboration, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I am the Evaluation Manager for the University of Minnesota, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Office of Community Engagement for Health (UMN-CTSI-OCEH). I designed and implemented the evaluation discussed in this abstract. I have over 10 years of community-based program evaluation experience as well as a Master’s in Public Health and a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Washington.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3200.0: Benefits & power of partnerships