Project Summary
Many, like our organization and communities, utilize a combination of internal health awareness and caregiver ministries along with faith-based education programs to target, galvanize, and increase existing levels of health awareness and education. Our program of patient centered research ministry training for faith-based community facilitators is designed to create confident PCOR champions equipped with activities and tools to sustain research ministry in faith-based settings. Sustaining a faith-based pool of trained research ministry ambassadors and maintaining the engagement of under-served communities of color in comparative effectiveness research and patient centered outcomes research can be resolved through the implementation and dissemination of an effective training infrastructure. Building on the proven P4P faith-based Ambassadors’ program, it is our goal to equip others with the training tools and methods for engaging faith-based communities.
To achieve this, we propose a RMF Train the Trainer Program and tool kit for faith-based community trainers regarding the core values and practices of patient centered outcomes research and a network of research ministries in faith based settings to enable engagement, across diverse communities of faith. Once trained and certified, the Research Ministry Facilitators will train various ministries as well as offer researcher workshops on strategies and methods needed to both engage the academic and medical research communities as well as how to interact with existing ministries in caregiving, health, and cluster engagement discussion groups on specific diseases. What makes this a unique solution is the intentional theme of “teach one to reach many”.
Based on this underlying theme, this program will also be designed to transcend denominational communities within the faith-based arena, while partnering with the academic and medical communities. Year one (1) will focus on building an infrastructure inclusive of diverse faith-based communities and collaboratively creating and delivering the RMF Train the Trainer Program. It will also see the recruitment and education of the Trainee Facilitators. Year two (2) will be dedicated to delivering the program to various communities nationally, in group settings, community workshops, and custom one-on-one meetings, as requested. In the long term, we aim to counter historical mistrust of researchers and academic institutions which can contribute to low research participation amongst African Americans, especially participation in clinical research. Furthermore, we are looking to utilize our established model of robust processes for engaging with patient centered health research which can be inclusive of faith-based communities, patients who are members of congregations, healthcare professionals and community focused health researchers.
Project Resource: Research Ministry Training Manual