Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Lessons Learned from a Multi-Year Community-Based Participatory Research Project Lead by Undergraduate Students Rebecca Smullin Dawson PhD MPH, Garrett Devenney, and Erica D. Bryson BS Allegheny College, Program in Global Health Studies Project History Community Partners Acknowledgements Accomplishments Fall 2012 Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a community health needs assessment (CHNA) must be completed every three years by non-profit hospitals. The main purpose of a CHNA is to identify factors influencing the health status of community members, locate resources within the region, and then use reliable information from the assessment in order to implement practical and cost-efficient solutions. Fall 2013 A group of undergraduate students at Allegheny College was tasked by the Meadville Medical Center (MMC) with developing the methodology for the hospital’s community health needs assessment. This multi-year project aims to: Collect, analyze, and distribute, both quantitative and qualitative, reliable data to improve community health in Crawford County, PA. Summer 2014 During the initial stage of data collection, a secondary data analysis was conducted using publicly available data sources retrieved from the United States Census Bureau and the Pennsylvania Department of Health. In addition, the categorization and analysis of hospital Emergency Department records was conducted as well as a community-wide survey to understand local perceptions of health. Fall 2014 – Spring 2015 The survey instrument was developed and pilot tested to identify and quantify the health status and needs of the community. Summer 2015 Surveys were administered in person throughout the community by student researchers. The CHNA Project is supported, in part, by a grant to Allegheny College from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute through the Precollege and Undergraduate Science Education Program, by funding from a grant awarded to support Allegheny College’s Community Wellness Initiative, and a grant awarded by the Franklin H. and Ruth L. Wells Foundation to support the CHNA work conducted by Allegheny College students under the direction of Professor Rebecca Smullin Dawson. The photographs used above were included with the permission of Mary Nagel and Quinn Bergeon. The CHNA Project is being conducted in collaboration with the Meadville Medical Center as well as 25 other local agencies and organizations. Lessons Learned & Future Recommendations Project Outcomes: 1.MMC satisfied ACA requirement 2.Valid and reliable information gathered from community 3.Research collaboration between Allegheny College and MMC Challenges 1.Different timelines: MMC needs do not align with a semester schedule 2.Students graduate: constantly changing group of students working on project 3.Varying needs of local hospital and an academic community 4.Public perception of student researchers 5.Community make-up: a rural, low-income setting required limited use of technology Recommendations Community-based work requires an investment of time to build a strong collaboration with local partners. Through such an experience, undergraduates gain invaluable research skills that develop throughout the course of the project. Both students and faculty gain a better understanding of the community they reside in and how community-based work can have direct, positive effects. Research Experience Since the inception of the collaboration between Allegheny College and the MMC on the CHNA, more than 25 undergraduate students have had the opportunity to: Develop survey instruments Conduct focus groups and pilot studies of instruments Collaborate with community partners Develop research protocols for short and long-term projects Collect survey data in the community (n=1311) Interview 20 key informants within the community Analyze datasets Conduct literature reviews Initiate individual research projects in collaboration with the MMC Present and publish reports on findings *Pictured above to bottom right: The CHNA team poses during survey collection at a farmer’s market; Alejandro Weil ‘15 asks a community member to complete a survey; an introductory slide from a CHNA presentation.