Capacity Needs in Community-Based Organizations for Enhancing Translational Research in Puerto Rico

Capacity Needs in Community-Based Organizations for Enhancing Translational Research in Puerto Rico Giovanni Martínez, PhD, Lili M. Sardiñas, PhD, Edna Acosta-Perez, PhD, Lizbeth Medina, MS, Mirza Rivera, MS, and Angela Pattatucci, PhD What is the Purpose of this Study? • In an effort to form and sustain community-academic partnerships to enhance clinical and translational research, an assessment of needs for selecting and implementing evidenced-based programs was conducted among a group of community-based organizations (N=62) in Puerto Rico that work or address specific health areas: cancer, neurological disorders, HIV, and cardiovascular health. What is the Problem? • Little research exists that describes the capacity needs in community-based organizations for building a sustainable translational research capacity and enhancing translational research in Puerto Rico. What are the Findings? • The survey revealed wide variability in understanding what constitutes an evidence-based program. • Training needs for building a productive translational research process also were identified. • These findings point to important implications for promoting community-campus partnerships for advancing clinical and translational research. Who Should Care Most? • Community-based organizations in Puerto Rico that work or address specific health areas: cancer, neurological disorders, HIV, and cardiovascular health. • Academia, in order to form and sustain community-academic partnerships to enhance clinical and translational research. • Individuals/organizations responsible for training CBOs. Recommendations for Action • Build a sustainable translational research capacity by establishing stable community-academic partnerships. • Based upon training needs identified through the survey and discussion groups, we have designed a comprehensive training program that will be offered to 12 innovator/early-adopter CBOs. • Build a translational research framework in Puerto Rico. [End Page 9] Giovanni Martínez Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Lili M. Sardiñas Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research, School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Edna Acosta-Perez Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research, School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Lizbeth Medina Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Mirza Rivera Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; University of Puerto Rico, Comprehensive Cancer Center Angela Pattatucci Puerto Rico Clinical and Translational Research Consortium, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Center for Evaluation and Sociomedical Research, School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus; Copyright © 2014 The Johns Hopkins University Press

Capacity building · Medical education · Political science · Public relations · Translational research · Translational science · Work (physics · Biomedical and Engineering Education · Engineering · Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Biomedical Research · Health and Medical Research Impacts · Medicine