Community contributions are impacting UB research

UB researchers are increasingly recognizing the impact that community members have in informing research design, which leads to more culturally relevant interventions and meaningful outcomes. One program making its mark is the UB Clinical and Translational Science Institute’s Community Engagement Studio Program.

The program, developed by the Meharry-Vanderbilt Community-Engaged Research Core, is widely recognized throughout the national Clinical and Translational Science Awards consortium. This semi-structured approach brings researchers and stakeholders together, face-to-face — or virtually — for a bi-directional conversation around different aspects of research studies.

CTSI Community Engagement Core Director Laurene M. Tumiel-Berhalter, director of community translational research in the Department of Family Medicine, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, believes that community engagement is needed now more than ever. And the studio model, in particular, offers a conduit to greater and more meaningful community input.

“The studios help us as an institution to show our commitment to conducting research that is influenced by the community,” Tumiel-Berhalter says. “It makes our research more relevant while acknowledging the unique contributions of members of the community.”

Since its inception at UB last year, the CTSI Community Engagement team has hosted numerous studio sessions with researchers. Oscar G. Gómez, CTSI Steering Committee member and associate lead for CTSI’s Mentored Career Development Program, was a recent participant. His study explored the priorities, perceptions and preferences of the Hispanic/Latino community when it came to COVID-19 research and health education.

“The Community Engagement studio session was instrumental to our study, as it allowed us to have direct input from members of the community including those in leadership positions,” explains Gomez, associate professor and division chief of infectious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, Jacobs School. “We had direct access to insight that would not have been possible to obtain otherwise.”

Gomez says the session provided multiple benefits on several fronts. “From the academic point of view, it helped us gather critical information about the interests and priorities of the community in regards to their health care needs, specifically COVID-19-related health care,” he says. “From the socialization point of view, we benefited immensely from meeting these wonderful and caring members of the community whose dedication and advocacy for their community was inspiring.”

Gomez believes it is “imperative that community members be informed firsthand” of the research interests of academic institutions.

“It is also imperative that members of the community be encouraged to provide their opinions, suggestions and concerns,” he adds. “Feedback is essential for any type of research that involves members of the community, not only for the benefits that it may bring in the future but also for the risks it may imply.”

Other researchers who have utilized the program also acknowledge the contributions that participating community members have had on their research. “Participating in the studio program provided us with a solid platform to start an academic-community partnership around kidney transplant access that is now thriving and continues to gain momentum,” says Liise K. Kayler, program director, Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation, and chief of the Division of Transplant Surgery, Department of Surgery, Jacobs School.

Similarly, Tumiel-Berhalter says feedback provided by community members was crucial to the success of one of her recent studies. “It showed us that we could be asking better questions, and it also gave us valuable insight as to why some research studies are not successful,” she notes. “We need to be attuned with the community if we want our research to succeed.”

Researcher evaluations have demonstrated the valuable contributions of community experts in studio sessions. Among all participating principal investigators, the top four most noted contributions are:

• Increased understanding of the community.
• Increased sensitivity to the community.
• Critical feedback on feasibility of the project.
• Critical feedback on appropriateness of project.

Above all else, says Megan Wilson-Crowley, CTSI community research facilitator, the program has changed the perceptions of many investigators. “It’s exciting to see the effect these sessions have on research,” she says. “We need to create more spaces for researchers and community members to come together, as equals, and engage in meaningful dialogue.”

The CTSI provides funding for four Community Engagement studio sessions each year. Interested researchers can apply by completing a brief REDCap application.