Soliciting views of various communities on health research: a prelude to engagement in specific research projects

• Published in: Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy Vol. 18; no. 6; pp. 2753 - 2763
• Main Authors: Taras, Howard L., Kalichman, Michael W., Schulteis, Gery, Dumbauld, Jill, Bell, Yvonne, Seligman, Fe Fidelis, West, Kathy D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.12.2015; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Attitudes; biomedical; Biomedical research; California; Citizen participation; Clinical trials; Community; community based organization; Community Participation - methods; Data retrieval; Focus Groups; Health services; Health Services Research; Human subjects; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Literature reviews; Medical research; Original Research Paper; Original Research Papers; Pacific Islander people; public; Research centers; Research facilities; Research institutions; Research projects; Soliciting; Veterans; United States > US; California; INE, USA, California, San Diego; community based organization; public; community; biomedical; research
• ISSN: 1369-6513; 1369-7625; 1369-7625
• DOI: 10.1111/hex.12249

Background Members of the public are increasingly engaged in health‐service and biomedical research and provide input into the content of research, design and data sharing. As there is variation among different communities on how research is perceived, to engage all sectors of the general public research institutions need to customize their approach. Objective This paper explores how research institutions and community leaders can partner to determine the best ways to engage different sectors of the public in research. Design Following a literature review, a research institution engaged with four different sectors of the public through their respective representative community‐based organizations (CBOs) by interviews with leaders, community member focus groups and a joint project. Setting San Diego and Imperial Counties, California, United States of America (USA). Conclusion Before embarking on more specific research projects, investigators can gain valuable insights about different communities' attitudes to, and understanding of, health services and biomedical research by interacting directly with members of the community, collaborating with community leaders, and jointly identifying steps of engagement tailored to the community.