Community-Engaged Research: Common Themes and Needs Identified by Investigators and Research Teams at an Emerging Academic Learning Health System.

Community-engaged research (CEnR) has emerged within public health and medicine as an approach to research designed to increase health equity, reduce health disparities, and improve community and population health. We sought to understand how CEnR has been conducted and to identify needs to support CEnR within an emerging academic learning health system (aLHS). We conducted individual semi-structured interviews with investigators experienced in CEnR at an emerging aLHS in the southeastern United States. Eighteen investigators (16 faculty and 2 research associates) were identified, provided consent, and completed interviews. Half of participants were women; 61% were full professors of varied academic backgrounds and departments. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed using constant comparison, an approach to grounded theory. Twenty themes emerged that were categorized into six domains: Conceptualization and Purpose, Value and Investment, Community-Academic Partnerships, Sustainability, Facilitators, and Challenges. Results also identified eight emerging needs necessary to enhance CEnR within aLHSs. The results provide insights into how CEnR approaches can be harnessed within aLHSs to build and nurture community-academic partnerships, inform research and institutional priorities, and improve community and population health. Findings can be used to guide the incorporation of CEnR within aLHSs.

Community-engaged research in translational science: Innovations to improve health in Appalachia.

Health disparities between Appalachia and the rest of the country are widening. To address this, the Appalachian Translational Research Network (ATRN) organizes an annual ATRN Health Summit. The most recent Summit was held online September 22-23, 2020, and hosted by Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute in partnership with the Northwest Area Health Education Center. The Summit, titled "Community-Engaged Research in Translational Science: Innovations to Improve Health in Appalachia," brought together a diverse group of 141 stakeholders from communities, academic institutions, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) to highlight current research, identify innovative approaches to translational science and community-engaged research, develop cross-regional research partnerships, and establish and disseminate priorities for future Appalachian-focused research. The Summit included three plenary presentations and 39 presentations within 12 concurrent breakout sessions. Here, we describe the Summit planning process and implementation, highlight some of the research presented, and outline nine emergent themes to guide future Appalachian-focused research.