Evaluating Community–Academic Partnerships of the South Carolina Healthy Brain Research Network

Abstract

Community-academic partnerships have a long history of support from public health researchers and practitioners as an effective way to advance research and solutions to issues that are of concern to communities and their citizens. Data on the development and evaluation of partnerships focused on healthy aging and cognitive health is limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine how community partners view the benefits and barriers of a community-academic partner group established to support activities of the South Carolina Healthy Brain Research Network (SC-HBRN). The SC-HBRN is part of the national Healthy Brain Research Network, a thematic research network funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is focused on improving the scientific and research translation agenda on cognitive health and healthy aging. Semi-structured interviews, conducted at end of year 2 of the 5 year partnership, were used to collect data from partners of the SC-HBRN. Reported benefits of the partnership were information sharing and networking, reaching a broader audience, and humanizing research. When asked to describe what they perceived as barriers to the collaborative, partners described some lack of clarity regarding goals of the network and opportunities to contribute to the partnership. Study results can guide and strengthen other public health focused partnerships.

Development of a Clinical-Academic-Community Collaboration to Improve Health Literacy

“…Further, assessment of the partnership will occur throughout the project period to ensure that all collaborators' perspectives continue to be considered in the development and implementation of our health literacy work. 24,25 Despite limitations, this pilot study and the successful development of a clinical-academic-community partnership allowed for important dialogue that confirmed the need for development of a clinic-based health literacy intervention in our state. Specifically, unified efforts of the groups' members enabled identification of interested, invested, motivated, and capable champions (ie, clinic manager and nurse implementer at the pilot intervention clinics) who were dedicated to the collaborative, as well as iterative development and implementation of the clinic readiness assessment and the pilot intervention.…”

“…Further, assessment of the partnership will occur throughout the project period to ensure that all collaborators’ perspectives continue to be considered in the development and implementation of our health literacy work. 24 , 25 …”

“…We recommend regular evaluation of the partnership and partner roles, intervention protocols, and data collection strategies for sustaining such efforts. 24 , 25 Specific steps taken to form and evaluate this partnership and develop and implement clinic-based healthcare interventions may be relevant for other collaborative teams.…”

“…It is known that clinical-academic-community partnerships are effective in addressing patient-provider communication and health outcomes. 22 - 26 Such collaborations pool greater resources and enable a broader reach of health messaging. 22 , 24 , 25 The organization and success of these collaborations also requires identification of program champions within both administrative and clinical settings.…”

“… 22 - 26 Such collaborations pool greater resources and enable a broader reach of health messaging. 22 , 24 , 25 The organization and success of these collaborations also requires identification of program champions within both administrative and clinical settings. 27 The current study describes the establishment of a collaboration between clinical, academic, and community partners to develop a clinic readiness assessment and a clinic-based pilot intervention involving AskMe3™ materials.…”