Measuring Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: The Initial Development of an Assessment Instrument.

BACKGROUND: Although the partnership between academic researchers and community members is paramount to community-based research efforts, a limited number of measures exist to evaluate this construct. Of those in existence, no assessment measures include a comprehensive coverage of the many dimensions of partnerships. In addition, these measures were not designed through an extensive community-based participatory research (CBPR) model, in which the strengths of traditional assessment techniques were integrated with input from stakeholders. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article was to describe the creation of a measure to evaluate key dimensions of partnerships forged between researchers and community members using a CBPR approach to measurement development. METHODS: The iterative process of developing this measure consisted of integrating valuable feedback from community partners and researchers, via multiple rounds of item sorting and qualitative interviewing. RESULTS: The resultant measure, titled Partnership Assessment In community-based Research (PAIR), consists of 32 items, and comprises 5 dimensions: communication, collaboration, partnership values, benefits, and evaluation. The innovative process of using CBPR in the development of measures, the benefits of this approach, and the lessons learned are highlighted. CONCLUSIONS: PAIR was developed out of a need identified jointly by community members and researchers, and is intended to characterize the range of relationships between researchers and community members engaging in community-based research and programming.

Shrinking the gap between research and practice: tailoring and testing youth psychotherapies in clinical care contexts.

Most youth psychotherapy research involves conditions quite unlike the clinical practice it is designed to strengthen. Most studies have not tested interventions with clinically referred youths and practicing clinicians in clinical care settings, nor have they tested whether new treatments produce better outcomes than usual practice. Limited exposure to real-world conditions and questions may partially explain why empirically supported treatments show such modest effects when tested under more representative conditions, against usual care. Our deployment-focused model calls for intervention development and testing with the kinds of participants (e.g., clients and clinicians) and in the contexts (e.g., clinics) for which the interventions are ultimately intended, and for randomized comparisons to usual clinical care. Research with the Child STEPs (system and treatment enhancement projects) treatment approach illustrates the methods and potential benefits of the deployment-focused model. Findings supporting Child STEPs are but one part of a rich research matrix needed to shrink the gap between intervention research and clinical practice.

Therapeutic assessment with an adolescent: choosing connections over substances.

This case study provides an in-depth example of a comprehensive therapeutic assessment with an adolescent (TA-A) and his parents. The TA-A addressed parental concerns about their son's drug experimentation as well as the adolescent's own private questions about his distinctiveness from others, all set against a backdrop of ongoing parental conflict and poor communication. The TA-A process and how it is specifically tailored to balance the needs of adolescents and their parents is discussed. Subsequently, each step of TA-A is illustrated through the case study. Research findings at the conclusion of the assessment and at follow-up indicated significant decreases in internalizing symptomology and school problems, increases in self-esteem and self-reliance, and improved family functioning as reported by the adolescent. At follow-up, the father spoke of developing a more assertive parenting approach and successful follow-through on recommendations. This case study provides a template for clinicians interested in conducting TA-A.