Dataset Information

The Community-Academic Aging Research Network: A Pipeline for Dissemination.

ABSTRACT:

Background/objectives

The Community-Academic Aging Research Network (CAARN) was created to increase the capacity and effectiveness of Wisconsin's Aging Network and the University of Wisconsin to conduct community-based research related to aging. The purpose of this article is to describe CAARN's infrastructure, outcomes, and lessons learned.

Design

Using principles of community-based participatory research, CAARN engages stakeholders to participate in the design, development, and testing of older adult health interventions that address community needs, are sustainable, and improve health equity.

Setting

Academic healthcare and community organizations.

Participants

Researchers, community members, and community organizations.

Intervention

CAARN matches academic and community partners to develop and test evidence-based programs to be distributed by a dissemination partner.

Measurements

Number of partnerships and funding received.

Results

CAARN has facilitated 33 projects since its inception in 2010 (30 including rural populations), involving 46 academic investigators, 52 Wisconsin counties, and 1 tribe. These projects have garnered 52 grants totaling $20 million in extramural and $3 million in intramural funding. Four proven interventions are being prepared for national dissemination by the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging: one to improve physical activity; one to reduce bowel and bladder incontinence; one to reduce sedentary behavior; and one to reduce falls risk among Latinx older adults. Additionally, one intervention to improve balance using a modified tai chi program is being disseminated by another organization.

Conclusion

CAARN's innovative structure creates a pipeline to dissemination by designing for real-world settings through inclusion of stakeholders in the early stages of design and by packaging community-based health interventions for older adults so they can be disseminated after the research has been completed. These interventions provide opportunities for clinicians to engage with community organizations to improve the health of their patients through self-management. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1325-1333, 2020.

SUBMITTER: Mahoney JE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7299796 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe Community-Academic Aging Research Network (CAARN) was developed in 2010 to build partnerships, facilitate research, and ultimately accelerate the pace of development, testing, and dissemination of evidence-based programs related to healthy aging. CAARN has facilitated development and testing of 32 interventions, two of which are being packaged for scale-up, and three of which are being scaled up nationally by non-profit organizations. The purpose of this study is to describe CAARN's essential elements required to replicate its success in designing for dissemination.MethodsWe conducted a modified Delphi technique with 31 participants who represented CAARN's organization (staff and Executive Committee) and academic and community partners. Participants received three rounds of a web-based survey to rate and provide feedback about the importance of a list of potential key elements compiled by the authors. The criterion for establishing consensus was 80% of responses to consider the element to be extremely or very important.ResultsResponse rate was 90% in Round 1, 82% in Round 2, and 87% in Round 3. A total of 115 items were included across rounds. Overall, consensus was achieved in 77 (67%) elements: 8 of 11 elements about academic partners, 8 of 11 about community partners, 29 of 49 about the role of the community research associate, 16 of 21 about the role of the director, 9 of 17 about the purveyor (i.e., the organization that scales up an intervention with fidelity), and 7 of 7 about the overall characteristics of the network.ConclusionsThe development of evidence-based programs designed for dissemination requires the involvement of community partners, the presence of a liaison that facilitates communications among academic and community stakeholders and a purveyor, and the presence of a pathway to dissemination through a relationship with a purveyor. This study delineates essential elements that meet the priorities of adopters, implementers, and end-users and provide the necessary support to community and academic partners to develop and test interventions with those priorities in mind. Replication of these key elements of the CAARN model may facilitate quicker development, testing, and subsequent dissemination of evidence-based programs that are feasible to implement by community organizations.

Project description:BackgroundPrimary care research networks have been established internationally since the 1960s to enable diverse practitioners to engage in and develop research and education and implement research evidence.The newly established Western Research and Education Network (WestREN) is one such network consisting of a collaboration between the Discipline of General Practice at NUI Galway and 71 West of Ireland general practices. In September 2009 all member practices were issued with a questionnaire with two objectives: to describe the structure and characteristics of the member practices and to compare the results to the national profile of Irish general practice.MethodsA postal survey was used followed by one written and one email reminder.ResultsA response rate of 73% (52/71) was achieved after two reminders.Half of practices were in a rural location, one quarter located in an urban setting and another quarter in a mixed location.Ninety-four per cent of general practitioners practice from purpose-built or adapted premises with under 6% of practices being attached to the general practitioner's residence. Over 96% of general practitioners use appointment systems with 58% using appointment only.All practices surveyed were computerised, with 80% describing their practices as 'fully computerised'. Almost 60% of general practitioners are coding chronic diagnoses with 20% coding individual consultations. Twenty-five per cent of general practitioners were single-handed with the majority of practices having at least two general practitioners, and a mean number of general practitioners of 2.4. Ninety-two per cent of practices employed a practice nurse with 30% employing more than one nurse.Compared to the national profile, WestREN practices appear somewhat larger, and more likely to be purpose-built and in rural areas. National trends apparent between 1982 and 1992, such as increasing computerisation and practice nurse availability, appear to be continuing.ConclusionsWestREN is a new university-affiliated general practice research network in Ireland. Survey of its initial membership confirms WestREN practices to be broadly representative of the national profile and has provided us with valuable information on the current and changing structure of Irish general practice.

Project description:Sustaining collaborations between community-based organization leaders and academic researchers in community-engaged research (CEnR) in the service of decreasing health inequities necessitates understanding the collaborations from an inter-organizational perspective. We assessed the perspectives of community leaders and university-based researchers conducting community-engaged research in a medium-sized city with a history of community-university tension. Our research team, included experts in CEnR and organizational theory, used qualitative methods and purposeful, snowball sampling to recruit local participants and performed key informant interviews from July 2011-May 2012. A community-based researcher interviewed 11 community leaders, a university-based researcher interviewed 12 university-based researchers. We interviewed participants until we reached thematic saturation and performed analyses using the constant comparative method. Unifying themes characterizing community leaders and university-based researchers' relationships on the inter-organizational level include: 1) Both groups described that community-engaged university-based researchers are exceptions to typical university culture; 2) Both groups described that the interpersonal skills university-based researchers need for CEnR require a change in organizational culture and training; 3) Both groups described skepticism about the sustainability of a meaningful institutional commitment to community-engaged research 4) Both groups described the historical impact on research relationships of race, power, and privilege, but only community leaders described its persistent role and relevance in research relationships. Challenges to community-academic research partnerships include researcher interpersonal skills and different perceptions of the importance of organizational history. Solutions to improve research partnerships may include transforming university culture and community-university discussions on race, power, and privilege.