Coffee Chat Spotlight: Community and Stakeholder Engagement Program
For the second installment of our Coffee Chat Series, we sat down with the leaders of the Community and Stakeholder Engagement (CSE) program to learn more about their work and its impact on translational science. Dr. Zoorob and Dr. Price shared how the program connects researchers with communities, builds trust through meaningful engagement and helps ensure research addresses real-world needs.
Q: What problem was the CSE program created to address?
Dr. Zoorob: The CSE program was created to connect researchers with communities and link research to the people it is intended to serve. The goal is to build trusting relationships, improve understanding and support research outcomes that address real-world problems.
Dr. Price: In translational science, one of the main challenges is that communities often do not participate in research or receive its benefits at high enough levels. The CSE works to understand and address why that final step toward community engagement is often unsuccessful.
Awareness is important, but trust is equally important. Communities need to feel engaged early in the research process. The CSE helps close gaps in awareness and trust so communities can better understand new discoveries, tests and treatments and feel included in the process.
Q: What makes the CSE approach unique?
Dr. Zoorob: The CSE emphasizes ongoing, two-way communication. Programs are designed to inform communities about research while also creating opportunities for communities to share their interests and feedback with researchers.
One example is the Community Responsive Studios, which help researchers gain community perspectives on proposed projects. To ensure feedback leads to action, the CSE follows up with researchers six months and one year after a Studio to share updates and explain changes made in response to community input. Community members are then invited to provide additional feedback.
The CSE also hosts Other Academic Voices, a speaker series highlighting perspectives rarely heard in research settings, and supports the Community Engagement Advisory Board (CEAB), which provides community perspectives across CTPH functions. CEAB members have served on the CTPH Executive Committee and recently participated as reviewers for the pilot award program.
Dr. Price: A key difference is the active involvement of people who are not scientists. Their voices help ensure research is effective when translated into medications, interventions and other community applications. The focus is on strengthening trust and improving effectiveness during the final stage of translational science.
Q: What are some of the program's most meaningful successes?
Dr. Zoorob: The Community Responsive Studios have been a major success. Since launching the program, the team has conducted 20 sessions. The program has also helped connect researchers with communities that could benefit from their work while creating opportunities for collaboration with BCM and UH outreach efforts.
Dr. Price: The team has developed lupus research training for community health workers and partnered with lupus advocacy groups. These efforts have helped researchers, health workers and community members better understand challenges patients face, including diagnosis delays, difficult-to-explain symptoms and trust issues. By reaching hundreds of community health workers, the program has extended its impact to thousands of community members.
Q: How does CSE help ensure research is aligned with community needs?
Dr. Zoorob: Our efforts focus on building trust between the research community and communities across Greater Houston. By facilitating collaboration and two-way communication, we help create conversations that lead to meaningful research. We make it easier for researchers to connect with communities and integrate their feedback into their work.
Dr. Price: Aligning research and community needs is not simple. Researchers often focus on producing knowledge that can be broadly applied, while communities are focused on local concerns and outcomes. Although everyone wants better health, aligning those perspectives takes time and trust.
Researchers do not always find the answers they expect, and negative results are an important part of the scientific process. Our approach is to involve as many people as possible in the conversation, create opportunities for awareness and dialogue, and ensure community perspectives help inform research. Through ongoing engagement, we work to build trust and strengthen the connection between research and the communities it serves.