- Like most activities that require personal interaction, this type of research was disrupted by the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Community-engaged projects have garnered attention over the past two decades as they focus on tackling inequities, which often arise during public health crises.
Community-engaged research during the pandemic
- Public health measures focused on preventing the spread of COVID-19 (such as limits on in-person gatherings) halted traditional forms of fieldwork.
- These organizations are sought after as community research partners since they are embedded in the communities they serve and provide crucial services to community members.
- Findings from our roundtable, supplementing this article, have also been included in our Community-Engaged Research during Health Crises: Engaging with Civil Society Organizations handbook published by PIPPS and SFU Community Engaged Research Initiative.
Barriers to conducting community-engaged research
- Roundtable attendees first discussed the challenges of conducting research remotely, with one noting how their research plans were put on pause for more than three months because of pandemic-related restrictions.
- Several attendees found it difficult to recruit research participants; they discussed the challenges of the digital divide, referring to the gap between communities’ access to information and communication technologies.
- While ethics applications were expedited, researchers felt they lacked guidance for community-engaged research during the pandemic.
Opportunities emerging from the pandemic
- Despite the challenges they faced, researchers identified a range of opportunities that emerged as a result of the pandemic.
- Researchers also discussed how the pandemic forced the “professional veneers to slip away.” Over time, researchers connected on a more vulnerable level with their community partners, as they all attempted to get through the pandemic.
- Compensating members of the research team for their knowledge strengthened the relevancy of their findings as they directly learned how the pandemic was impacting distinct groups.
Lessons learned: Conducting community-engaged research in future crises
- Participants were asked what they would do differently in future health crises.
- Some discussed the significance of holding informal check-ins with their teams to openly discuss professional and personal challenges.
- Based on the key themes of the roundtable, three recommendations emerged to support community-engaged research in future public health crises: 1) Post-secondary institutions should develop guidance for community-engaged research in health emergencies Since post-secondary institutions increasingly recognize the importance of community-university partnerships, institutions should create protocols to support community-engaged research in public health crises.
- 2) Develop targeted funding opportunities for community-engaged research partnerships During the pandemic, research unrelated to COVID-19 faced funding drawbacks and resource constraints.
- Rather than treating community-engaged research as a “peripheral activity,” the principles of community engagement should be embedded in research, teaching and learning.
Julia Smith receives funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Health Research BC. Simran Purewal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
