A community engagement training program for basic and translational cancer researchers

Purpose There is an increasing awareness of the importance of patient engagement in cancer research, but many basic and translational researchers have never been trained to do so. To address this unmet need, a 1-year patient engagement training program for researchers was developed. Methods Eleven researchers and eleven paired research advocates participated. This program, designed for virtual delivery, included 3 didactic modules focused on (1) Community Outreach and Engagement principles and methods, (2) Communication skills, and (3) Team Science. This was followed by longitudinal projects to be completed by the researcher/advocate pairs, including learning about the research project, and co-authoring abstracts, manuscripts and grant proposals. Monthly group meetings allowed pairs to share their experiences. The program culminated in the pairs creating and presenting oral abstracts for the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s Annual Research Symposium. Results All participants indicated that the modules had a positive impact on their ability to collaborate in research. Both researcher self-evaluations and patient advocate evaluations of their researcher partner showed an improvement in researcher communication competency. Results from the Patient Engagement in Research Scale showed that advocates were highly engaged. Within 1 year after program completion, participating pairs have completed four abstracts and 9 grant proposals. Conclusion The program will be modified based on participant feedback, and can be adapted for future cohorts if an increased number of sessions per month and shortened program duration are desired. The program’s virtual format allows scalability across institutions to potentially benefit large cohorts of researchers.