Post date
August 30, 2022
Publication
Journal of Clinical and Translational Science
Authors
Samuel Byiringiro, Cyd Lacanienta, Roger Clark, Crystal Evans, Sarah Stevens, Melanie Reese, Pamela Ouyang, Mia Terkowitz, Christine Weston, Panagis Galiatsatos, Monica Guerrero Vazquez, Frederick W. Luthardt and Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb.
Summary
Despite the adversity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, it also pushed for experimenting with innovative strategies for community engagement. The Community Research Advisory Council (C-RAC) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is an initiative to promote community engagement in research. COVID-19 rendered it impossible for C-RAC to conduct its meetings, which have historically been in person. Since March 2020, C-RAC has transitioned from in-person to virtual meetings. The needs assessment was conducted among C-RAC members, and individualized solutions were provided for a successful virtual engagement. The usual working schedule was altered to respond to COVID-19 and promote community-Engaged research. Resultingly, the attendance at C-RAC meetings before and after the transition to virtual operation increased from 69% to 76% among community members of the C-RAC. Additionally, the C-RAC launched new initiatives, and in eighteen months since January 2020, it conducted 50 highly rated research reviews for 20 research teams. The experience of the C-RAC demonstrates that when community needs are assessed and addressed, and technical support is provided, digital strategies can lead to greater community collaborations.
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Citation
Byiringiro S, Lacanienta C, Clark R, Evans C, Stevens S, Reese M, Ouyang P, Terkowitz M, Weston C, Galiatsatos P, Guerrero Vazquez M, Luthardt FW, Dennison Himmelfarb C. Digital and virtual strategies to advance community stakeholder engagement in research during COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science. 2022:1-18. doi:10.1017/cts.2022.457.
