Using developmental evaluation and community-based participatory research to develop a model of supportive housing

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) and developmental evaluation (DE) have emerged over recent decades as separate approaches for addressing complex social issues. Current literature offers little with respect to the use of CBPR and DE in combination, although the two approaches are complementary. Through the current paper, we outline how CBPR and DE were used to develop a model of supportive housing for teen families. More specifically, we describe the structures and processes that contributed to this development, including (1) our partnership approach, (2) pooled resources, (3) regular opportunities for collaboration and reflection, (4) integration of multiple data sources, (5) ongoing feedback and knowledge dissemination, and (6) adjustments to program practices. We end by providing insights into the lessons that we learned through this project. Through this paper, we describe how researchers and community partners can collaboratively use CBPR and DE to develop a program model in complex community settings. Insights are offered that will be important for researchers, evaluators, and practitioners seeking to develop programming in response to complex community issues.     

Participatory evaluation of a community–academic partnership to inform capacity-building and sustainability

The Tampa Bay Community Cancer Network (TBCCN) was formed as a partnership comprised of committed community based organizations (grassroots, service, health care organizations) and a National Cancer Institute designated cancer center working together to reduce cancer health disparities. Adhering to principles of community-based participatory research, TBCCN's primary aims are to develop and sustain outreach, training, and research programs that aim to reach medically underserved, multicultural and multilingual populations within the Tampa Bay tri-county area.Using a participatory evaluation approach, we recently evaluated the partnerships’ priorities for cancer education and outreach; perspectives on the partnerships’ adherence to CBPR principles; and suggestions for sustaining TBCCN and its efforts. The purpose of this paper is to describe implementation and outcomes of this participatory evaluation of a community/academic partnership, and to illustrate the application of evaluation findings for partnership capacity-building and sustainability. Our evaluation provides evidence for partners’ perceived benefits and realized expectations of the partnership and illustrates the value of ongoing and continued partnership assessment to directly inform program activities and build community capacity and sustainability.     

Application of mixed-methods design in community-engaged research: Lessons learned from an evidence-based intervention for Latinos with chronic illness and minor depression

The purpose of this paper is to share lessons learned from a collaborative, community-informed mixed-methods approach to adapting an evidence-based intervention to meet the needs of Latinos with chronic disease and minor depression and their family members. Mixed-methods informed by community-based participatory research (CBPR) were employed to triangulate multiple stakeholders’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers of implementing the adapted intervention in community settings. Community partners provided an insider perspective to overcome methodological challenges. The study’s community informed mixed-methods: research approach offered advantages to a single research methodology by expanding or confirming research findings and engaging multiple stakeholders in data collection. This approach also allowed community partners to collaborate with academic partners in key research decisions.     

A participatory evaluation framework in the establishment and implementation of transdisciplinary collaborative centers for health disparities research

ObjectiveWe describe the formulation and implementation of a participatory evaluation plan for three Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers for Health Disparities Research funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities.MethodsAlthough different in scope of work, all three centers share a common goal of establishing sustainable centers in health disparities science in three priority areas – social determinants of health, men’s health research, and health policy research.ResultsThe logic model guides the process, impact, and outcome evaluation. Emphasis is placed on process evaluation in order to establish a “blue print” that can guide other efforts as well as assure that activities are being implemented as planned.ConclusionWe have learned three major lessons in this process: (1) Significant engagement, participation, and commitment of all involved is critical for the evaluation process; (2) Having a “roadmap” (logic model) and “directions” (evaluation worksheets) are instrumental in getting members from different backgrounds to follow the same path; and (3) Participation of the evaluator in the leadership and core meetings facilitates continuous feedback.     

Community based participatory research for public relations: Realizing potential for researcher-participant relationships

Relationship management theory and organizational-public relationships (OPR) continue to guide much of the research in public relations (PR) and espouse values of building collaborative and dialogic interactions for mutual benefit. Yet, OPR historically prioritized the use of relationships to reach organizational goals instead of public or community needs. Furthermore, the relationship paradigm has overlooked the significance of relationships between researchers and participants. This essay urges PR to prioritize researcher-participant relationships when engaging in research that concerns a community by using community-based participatory research (CBPR), an approach that values the contributions of community partners. We consider the foundations and critiques of relationships in PR and explain how CBPR can transcend some of these limitations by facilitating mutual benefit in methodological decisions. We then outline the benefits and challenges of using CBPR based on a review of studies across disciplines and the authors’ reflections on employing CBPR in their research. This work builds on the PR scholarship of relationships to offer concrete ways that researchers can utilize CBPR to address community needs and prioritize participants in the research process.     

Working on Womanhood (WOW): A participatory formative evaluation of a community-developed intervention

The well-documented disparities in availability, accessibility, and quality of behavioral health services suggest the need for innovative programs to address the needs of ethnic minority youth. The current study aimed to conduct a participatory, formative evaluation of “Working on Womanhood” (WOW), a community-developed, multifaceted, school-based intervention serving primarily ethnic minority girls living in underserved urban communities. Specifically, the current study aimed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and initial promise of WOW using community-based participatory research (CBPR) and represented the third phase of a community-academic partnership. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 960 WOW participants in 21 urban public schools, as well as WOW counselors, parents, and school staff over the course of one academic year. Results demonstrated evidence of acceptability of WOW and noteworthy improvements for WOW participants in targeted outcomes, including mental health, emotion regulation, and academic engagement. Findings also indicated several challenges to implementation feasibility and acceptability, including screening and enrollment processes and curriculum length. Additionally, we discuss how, consistent with participatory and formative research, findings were used by program implementers to inform program improvements, including modifications to screening processes, timelines, curriculum, and trainings – all in preparation for a rigorous effectiveness evaluation.     

Latino youth participation in community-based participatory research to reduce teen pregnancy disparities

BackgroundCommunity-based participatory research can provide a framework to build community capacity to do health equity research, particularly from community members who may not typically participate in research design and intervention.PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe a community-based coalition's partnership and engagement with Latino youth throughout the research process addressing health disparities in unintended teen pregnancy rates in a local community. Israel and colleagues' components of CBPR provide a framework to develop youth participation throughout the research process.MethodHigh school and college Latino youth participated in health equity research from community assessments to design an intervention and dissemination of results.ResultsWorking with youth can improve the integrity and validity of the research process and can also provide benefits to the community and individual youth members, resulting in increased community capacity for health equity research.DiscussionLessons learned about the direct and indirect benefits and challenges are presented. Community-based partnerships working with youth should consider documenting the individual and collective impact of community engagement on the youth from the onset of participation.     

“We’re Who We’ve Been Waiting For”: Intergenerational Community Organizing for a Healthy Community

This study, guided by principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR), presents the processes, challenges, and effects of intergenerational community organizing practice of a local grassroots organization to promote community health in multiracial and historically marginalized communities. Three major lessons emerged: (1) the central role of experiential communal learning and critical analysis in collective knowledge creation, (2) development of collective efficacy through a genuine sense of connection and mutual affirmation, and 3) the importance of a co-learner stance in fostering intergenerational leadership. The interconnection between process and product is emphasized as the central tenet in both community organizing and CBPR processes.     

Using participatory research in community consortia development and evaluation: Lessons from the beginning of a story

This article explores the first eighteen months of the development of a community-based consortium project that employs the methodology of participatory action research. Using the Community-Based Consortia Development (CBCD) framework to identify critical phase-specific issues, the author illustrates the applicability of lessons learned from the project to the utilization of the participatory philosophy and process for the empowerment of communities.     

Homelessness and Mental Disorder: Policy Considerations

Abstract

‘Photovoice’ is a photographic method that is used for several purposes (e.g. storytelling, building awareness, enhancing personal discovery), including conducting community-based participatory research (CBPR). Since its creation, photovoice has been used as a method for implementing health-related CBPR projects with people experiencing homelessness. As such, this article presents an overview of seven peer-reviewed publications regarding photovoice projects that were conducted with participants who are homeless. The goal of the review is to provide health professionals with a practical summary of the lessons learned from each photovoice project's methods and findings. Based on the literature, the review's major suggestion is that health professionals should plan and implement future projects according to the fundamental aspects of photovoice (e.g. empowerment of participants to document their community, facilitation of group discussions of photos, concerted efforts to reach policymakers).     

Using process evaluation to determine effectiveness of participatory ergonomics training interventions in construction

The construction industry continues to experience high rates of musculoskeletal injuries despite the widespread promotion of ergonomic solutions. Participatory ergonomics (PE) has been suggested as one approach to engage workers and employers for reducing physical exposures from work tasks but a systematic review of participatory ergonomics programs showed inconclusive results.. A process evaluation is used to monitor and document the implementation of a program and can aid in understanding the relationship between the program elements and the program outcomes. The purpose of this project is to describe a proposed process evaluation for use in a participatory ergonomic training program in construction workers and to evaluate its utility in a demonstration project among floor layers.     

Reflections on facilitating a participatory community self-evaluation

This paper is a reflective essay about our experience in conducting a participatory, community self-evaluation of a neighborhood revitalization effort in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We took a controversial approach to evaluation by focusing on learning community dialogues as a vehicle for program evaluation. As we implemented our strategy, two sets of contradictions surfaced. The first points to the fundamental differences between conventional and constructivist research paradigms. The second centers around our focus on dialogue as a strategy for evaluation. In response to these contradictions we performed three complementary roles: program evaluator, process consultant, and learning facilitator. We are not implying that we performed an outstanding job in these roles. Rather, this article is our way of taking stock of what we learned about our practice as evaluators and how we may expand our repertoire of skills in the future.     

Developing the Learning Door: a case study in youth participatory program planning

This article presents the results of a case study in youth participatory program planning conducted in the context of a nonformal technology-education program in eastern Finland. The purpose of the program was to have youth, university, and business stakeholders work together to create the Learning Door, a door that would meet the needs of older people and people with disabilities. The participatory program planning process that was used involved clarifying the mission, roles, and modes of collaboration as well as creating stakeholder matrices, logic models, program plans, and implementation plans. It was found that the observed program planning process was similar to the intended planning process and that the process was well received by the planning participants. The lessons learned include clarifying the nature of collaboration before the program gets underway, reviewing program planning steps often, and making clear distinctions between logic models and implementations plans.     

Qualitative evaluation of family therapy programs: a participatory approach

In this article, we provide examples of participatory qualitative evaluation methods that can be used within family therapy training programs. These methods can elicit useful feedback to improve programs and, at the same time, empower trainees to become partners in the evaluation process.     

Development of a participatory monitoring and evaluation strategy

This paper describes the process of developing a participatory monitoring and evaluation strategy for a Kenyan youth-based NGO. The iterative nature of the study including the process of narrowing down indicators to measure and methods to monitor/evaluate these is well documented. A discussion on the extent to which the process achieved participation and was empowering for the participants reflects on existing power relationships and cultural context of Kenya and points to the need to create opportunities for youth where they engage with the broader community. Lessons that emerge out of the study focus on the importance of prioritizing monitoring and evaluation, the potential of youth to carry out effective monitoring and evaluation, and the need for researchers to engage respectfully with communities and participants.     

Implementation and evaluation of an HIV/STD intervention in Peru

This paper presents the lessons learned through a process evaluation (PE) after 1 year of implementation of a 2-year community intervention in Lima, Peru. The intervention consisted of training and motivating community popular opinion leaders (CPOLs) for three marginal population segments to disseminate prevention messages among their peers. PE data included: observations, qualitative interviews with CPOLS, conversations and messages delivered by CPOLs, training facilitators' perceptions about implementation, and a survey of CPOLs. The PE helped to document and enhance the intervention. CPOLs were motivated to talk to their peers. CPOLs perceived that their participation had an effect on their own risk behaviors and saw their role as beneficial to their community. The PE was helpful in examining training delivery and the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention in order to assess the elements related to program success necessary to replicate the CPOL model.     

Communication of results and utilization in participatory program evaluation

This paper explores the linkages between utilization and stakeholder participation in the evaluation process, specifically in the communication of results phase of evaluation. It is argued that key elements of a participatory evaluation process can be linked to meaningful and multiple forms of results utilization through cognitive and political uses of the evaluation process. Data from two small-scale participatory evaluations are used to support this argument.     

Lapses,infidelities, and creative adaptations: Lessons from evaluation of a participatory market development approach in the Andes

Participatory approaches are frequently recommended for international development programs, but few have been evaluated. From 2007 to 2010 the Andean Change Alliance evaluated an agricultural research and development approach known as the “Participatory Market Chain Approach” (PMCA). Based on a study of four cases, this paper examines the fidelity of implementation, the factors that influenced implementation and results, and the PMCA change model. We identify three types of deviation from the intervention protocol (lapses, creative adaptations, and true infidelities) and five groups of variables that influenced PMCA implementation and results (attributes of the macro context, the market chain, the key actors, rules in use, and the capacity development strategy). There was insufficient information to test the validity of the PMCA change model, but results were greatest where the PMCA was implemented with highest fidelity. Our analysis suggests that the single most critical component of the PMCA is engagement of market agents – not just farmers – throughout the exercise. We present four lessons for planning and evaluating participatory approaches related to the use of action and change models, the importance of monitoring implementation fidelity, the limits of baseline survey data for outcome evaluation, and the importance of capacity development for implementers.     

Reflections on doing participatory research in health: participation,method and power

The author has reflected on her experience in facilitating three participatory research (PR) projects to identify key issues surrounding participation, method and power. The three PR projects in health, all undertaken in the same region in southeast Australia, assessed the needs of women who have experienced breast cancer, evaluated an Indigenous healthy lifestyle programme and developed and documented a model of coordinated care by a consumer group. In particular, the three participatory projects suggested that participants do not always want to maximise their own participation and may prefer external researcher involvement – relationships, confidentiality, anonymity and time‐impacted perspectives of participation. In one study, quantitative methods were selected and time and previous knowledge of research shaped participants' selection of method. In the projects, power relations were complex and issues of negotiation, inclusion, quality of research, agendas, roles and integrity are discussed. The lessons learned here are that participatory researchers can be open to differing levels of participation and methods while also comfortable with sharing decision‐making in research, even if it alters the research outcome.