While evaluation approaches for community-academic research groups are established, few tools exist for academic institutional advisory groups across multi-core centers and research, education, and clinical care missions. Institutional advisory group evaluation should consider group processes and their impact on community-centered outcomes. This study describes the community-engaged development of a mixed-method evaluation approach to address this gap and presents pilot outcomes across an NIH-funded center.

We utilized a Community of Practice model to co-develop a survey with 14 community and academic representatives of four advisory groups. The final survey included five categories of group process and four categories of outcomes. Storytelling sessions with community partners explored areas where the survey identified discrepancies in perspectives between community and academic team members, as well as areas with lower scores.

Nine community and 14 academic (staff and faculty) partners completed the survey. Respondents positively assessed group process outcomes (shared values, leadership, community-centeredness, and decision-making), and slightly less positive assessments of institutional outcomes. Storytelling sessions confirmed the overall satisfaction of community partners but highlighted actionable concerns within power-sharing, decision-making, funding equity, and trust-building.

The results of this equity-centered evaluation suggest the utility and importance of participatory, mixed-methods approaches to evaluating community-academic institutional advisory groups.

To compare healthcare survey response rates using two widely utilized recruitment methods: email and the electronic health record (EHR) patient portal.

Adults with a prior history of any bariatric surgery were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive a survey invitation via email or through the EHR patient portal. A second reminder was sent using the same method. A third invitation used a crossover approach, switching to the alternate method. We compared survey completion rates, changes in research preference status, and time to survey completion. Predictors of response were assessed using multivariable logistic regression.

The email group had a 9.9% response rate after the first invitation and 6.5% after the second. The EHR portal group had 8.4% and 4.5% response rates, respectively. Following crossover, the third invitation yielded a 4.4% response for those switched to the EHR portal and 7.5% for those switched to email. The EHR portal group was 27% less likely to complete the survey compared to the email group. Respondents were more likely to be female, non-Hispanic, White, have a recent healthcare encounter, and have recently logged into the portal. Median time to completion was under 24 hours in both groups, with over two-thirds of responses received on the day of or the day after the invitation. A change in research preference status was observed in 2.5% of email and 4.0% of portal participants.

Email-based recruitment yielded higher response rates than EHR portal-based recruitment, with most responses occurring shortly after invitation.

To enhance representation in LCS research, we examined associations between participant characteristics and their preferred mode of survey completion among individuals eligible for LCS.

Between February 2023 and April 2024, prospective participants were identified using electronic healthcare records from Mass General Brigham and the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences (OUHSC). We offered three modes of survey completion: online, by mail, or by phone. Eligible participants were 50–80 years old, had smoked within the past 15 years, and spoke English or Spanish. We used multinomial logistic regression to estimate relative risk ratios (RRR).

Outreach to 2,822 individuals resulted in a sample of 315 participants. The mean age was 61.7 years (SD = 10.9). Most respondents were women (63.0%) and identified as White (63.3%), 29.8 % were Hispanic. The most common survey completion mode was mail (37.1%), followed by online (35.9%) and phone (27.0%). Characteristics associated with completion by mail were study site (RRR = 6.86, 95%CI:3.10–15.14), and race (RRR = 3.63, 95%CI:1.53–8.61); with respondents at OUHSC or who did not identify as White being more likely to choose mail over online modality. Characteristics associated with phone completion, included older age (RRR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03–1.20), Spanish language preference (RRR = 9.28, 95%CI:2.38–36.09), and with local government or community insurance (RRR = 9.91, 95% CI:1.92–51.3).

The current trend toward online surveys may not fully account for individual preferences for LCS research engagement, and could limit the representativeness in LCS studies if offline alternatives are not offered.

In Indiana, Black women had 12% higher cervical cancer incidence, and 21% higher mortality compared to White women during the years 2008–2017. Human Papillomavirus (HPV) self-sampling delivered by community health workers (CHW) has demonstrated potential to increase cervical cancer screening rates among at-risk populations. This study aims to understand patient attitudes toward HPV self-sampling and CHW-delivered screening.

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey among patients from three Planned Parenthood clinics in Lake County, IN, which has one of the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in Indiana. Patients’ willingness to self-sample and to receive health education and services related to cervical cancer screening from CHWs was analyzed using logistic regression.

In the final sample (N = 140), the largest proportions of respondents were below age 30 (54.3%), aware of cervical cancer (78.6%), up to date on cervical cancer screening (84.3%), had no prior self-sampling experience (53.6%) and were aware of CHWs (52.1%). Multivariable logistic regression analyses showed Black patients had higher odds of being willing to: self-sample at home (aOR = 3.749, 95% CI = 1.619–8.681), receive health education from CHWs (aOR = 4.952, 95% CI = 2.124–11.548), and receive health services from CHWs (aOR = 3.305, 95% CI = 1.479–7.388) compared to White patients.

Our results showed Black patients had higher willingness for HPV self-sampling and CHW delivery of cervical cancer screening services. Study findings can be used to inform future CHW-led interventions for outreach, education, and delivery of self-sampling interventions to increase cervical cancer screening rates among Black women in underserved areas.

Firearm violence remains a critical public health issue in the United States, disproportionately impacting youth and communities of color while imposing significant emotional and economic costs. Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs) have emerged as effective, multidisciplinary strategies with the goal of interrupting cycles of violence by providing trauma-informed care and community services initiated during hospitalization. To develop a strong HVIP, it is imperative to collaborate with local stakeholders, and the aim of this study was to create and evaluate the effectiveness of a novel approach to the creation of a community advisory board (CAB) for a local HVIP.

This study presents a novel approach to the creation of a CAB to inform an HVIP in Houston, Texas. The CAB included diverse stakeholders such as community leaders, youth advocates, healthcare professionals, law enforcement professionals, and people with firearm violence lived experiences. Using a modified Intervention Mapping (IM) framework and the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Studio (CSES) model, the CAB convened through a series of structured meetings to identify community priorities, define modifiable risk factors, and inform HVIP programming.

CAB engagement led to the identification and development of key HVIP program components. The collaborative process emphasized transparency and mutual respect, fostering trust and increasing the likelihood of program acceptance and sustainability. CAB feedback was instrumental in shaping both short- and long-term implementation strategies.

Integrating equitable, community-driven stakeholder engagement into HVIP development enhances cultural relevance and responsiveness. This approach not only strengthens program design but also builds community trust.

Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) use multidisciplinary teams to respond to child abuse allegations. These fluid teams can benefit from team training to enhance team functioning and performance and strengthen the workforce, but they need guidance and resources to support the implementation of team training.

We conducted a cluster-randomized hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial to test the effectiveness of team training and evaluate a self-guided implementation process. Six rural CACs (N = 172 team members) were randomized to TeamTRACS (Team Training in Roles, Awareness, Communication, & Support; n = 4) or a waitlist comparison (n = 2). Simultaneous mixed methods evaluated the effectiveness of TeamTRACS (QUAN + qual) and the implementation process (quan + QUAL).

Reactions to TeamTRACS were positive (mean ratings > 4.5 on 1–5 scale), and TeamTRACS significantly increased teamwork knowledge (estimated marginal means = 80% vs. 75% [intent-to-treat]; 85% vs. 76% [training attendance]). There were no effects on skill use or work-related outcomes. Changes in team-level outcomes were small and inconsistent; one TeamTRACS team made substantial improvements. Reactions to self-guided implementation were positive (mean ratings > 4 on 1–5 scale). However, only one team completed the implementation process. Challenges included difficulty forming and maintaining a change team, turnover and understaffing, and competing priorities and a short timeframe.

Overall, TeamTRACS and its self-guided implementation process were positively received. Incomplete implementation may have limited TeamTRACS’ effectiveness. Longer timeframes and external support may improve the implementation of team training in low-resource settings.

Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) are critically important in addressing the unmet healthcare needs of individuals impacted by poverty. We used implementation science frameworks to advance understanding of perceived and actual facilitators and barriers to a novel asthma intervention before initiating a FQHC practice-based clinical trial.

Interviews with clinicians and administrators explored pre-implementation trial considerations. Transcripts were inductively coded using conventional content analysis.

Sixteen administrators and/or clinicians (88% female; mean age 49 ± 12.21; 44% Black race; 25% Hispanic ethnicity) from four FQHCs participated. Themes included (1) multi-level factors making successful implementation more or less likely, (2) pandemic-specific concerns with implications for current healthcare delivery challenges, and (3) unintended implementation consequences.

Participants were optimistic about the likelihood of successful intervention implementation if challenges were recognized and managed. Combined with other planned assessments, this data may provide a more comprehensive evaluation of clinical trial implementation in FQHCs.

We describe the steps taken to assess and improve the research readiness of data within PCORnet®, specifically focusing on the results of the PCORnet data curation process between Cycle 7 (October 2019) and Cycle 16 (October 2024).

We describe the process for extending the PCORnet® CDM and for creating data checks.

We highlight growth in the number of records available across PCORnet between data curation Cycles 7 and 16 (e.g., diagnoses increasing from ∼3.7B to ∼6.9B and laboratory results from ∼7.7B to ∼15.1B among legacy DataMarts), present the current list of data checks and describe performance of the network. We highlight examples of data checks with relatively stable performance (e.g., future dates), those where performance has improved (e.g., RxNorm mapping), and others performance is more variable (e.g., persistence of records).

Studies are a crucial source of information on the design of new data checks. The attention of PCORnet partners is focused primarily on those metrics that are generally modifiable. A transparent data curation process is an essential component of PCORnet, allowing network partners to learn from one another, while also informing the decisions of study investigators on which sites to include in their projects. The quality issues that exist within PCORnet stem from the way that data are captured within healthcare generally. We have been able to make to make great strides on improving data quality and research readiness. Many of the techniques piloted within PCORnet will be broadly applicable to other efforts.