Researcher Career Enhancement Project

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PROJECT SUMMARY - Researcher Career Enhancement Project The Southcentral Foundation (SCF) Research Department (RD) has conducted community-based participatory research (CBPR) addressing health priorities identified by the Alaska Native and American Indian (ANAI) community and leadership for the last 14 years. Moving forward, the SCF RD needs to continue fostering foundational research skills, such as basic statistical methods, in developing and new staff. Aligning with SCF's reputation as a leader in healthcare delivery, we also propose career enhancement activities that will build new, advanced research capacity among SCF senior researchers in dissemination and implementation (D&I) research, the study of how effective interventions and practices are implemented, adopted, and maintained. Within this Researcher Career Enhancement Project, the SCF RD will partner with established partners and subject matter experts at University of Washington (UW) to accomplish two specific aims: 1) Improve the acquisition of targeted foundational research skills through group-based didactic training paired with ongoing mentoring by academic partners and local peer mentors; and 2) Build organizational capacity to collaboratively design and conduct integrated, synergistic quality improvement, evaluation, and research efforts using dissemination and implementation research frameworks. Didactic learning groups in Specific Aim 1 will be selected using the Clinical Research Appraisal Inventory, modified for use in the SCF RD during a previous NARCH, and informed by mentor feedback. On-the-job application of foundational research skills within SCF research projects, as well as peer mentor support, will facilitate learning and ensure cultural and organizational fit. Specific Aim 2 will involve SCF senior researchers (i.e. principal investigators) and other SCF staff integral to evaluating SCF improvement efforts – improvement advisors (IAs) and program evaluators (PEs). UW D&I experts will provide didactic instruction and use case studies to facilitate pragmatic, applied discussion. Teams of senior researchers, IAs, and PEs will then develop and carry out integrated improvement, evaluation, and research projects focused on one to two implementation efforts in the SCF healthcare system. These efforts will enable the SCF RD to continue conducting tribal health research in a culturally, scientifically, and ethically sound manner. Furthermore, by fostering the skills to develop and conduct D&I research and generate evidence about the implementation of effective interventions in a tribal health system, this effort will advance the NARCH goal of increasing tribal control of research and improving ANAI health outcomes.