ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Involving stakeholders in the research process facilitates collaboration, increasing understanding of factors influencing their wellbeing and motivating community action. Currently, there is a need for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness of community-engaged research approaches for health, well-being, and engagement outcomes. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of both the SEED Method and a modified Delphi method in a participatory project to develop local strategies to address the opioid epidemic in three rural communities. The purpose of this study is to increase the level of evidence for community-engaged research methods through a randomized controlled trial. METHODS: Two communities will use the SEED Method and one will use a modified Delphi method. We aim to recruit a total of 144 participants (48 per community). The evaluation team will randomize participants to an intervention group or a control group. In addition, we will collect outcome data from the participatory research team members leading the projects in each county (n = 18) and from additional community members who participate in focus groups (n = 32). The primary outcome for all participants will be the change in self-reported civic engagement as measured by the total score on the Individual Mobilization Scale. DISCUSSION: In the context of participatory action to address opioid misuse in rural counties, this study will provide an understanding of the effectiveness of two community engagement methods for increasing civic engagement, as well as the extent to which participants successfully create locally tailored action strategies. The study will also explore how the observed effects differ depending on the participant's role in the project (stakeholder participant, community research team member, or focus group participant), which is an important consideration for participatory research.
Community-engaged research has become increasingly popular, yet there remains a need for randomized controlled trials that focus on testing the effectiveness of community-engaged research methods for outcomes relevant to the health, well-being, or civic engagement of individuals. Community members and researchers will benefit from data on the effectiveness of engagement methods. This will help them make decisions about which community engagement methods are best suited to project aims and participants' expectations. This research protocol describes a study comparing the effectiveness of two community engagement methods, the SEED Method and the Delphi method, and a control intervention in three rural counties. In each of the counties, participants will be randomized to an intervention group using a community-engaged method or a control group using standard survey methods. Participants will create local strategies for addressing opioid misuse and prioritize those strategies for use in community action planning. For study purposes, we define opioid misuse as a problematic pattern of using opioids (prescription or illicit). Community members participating in the study represent a range of relevant stakeholders, such as people with Opioid Use Disorder, family members of people who use opioids, community service and health care providers, substance use treatment and recovery providers, and local policymakers. In each county, the research is being conducted by a diverse team of community members led by a Cooperative Extension member. We will assess changes in the self-rated civic engagement of participants and compare the number and types of strategies created and prioritized using the three methods evaluated.
