Enriching Our Discovery by Training for Engagement: Methods for Patient/Person Engagement in Research

Saturday, November 5, 2022

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET

Location: 237 CC

CE: 1.5

Chair(s)

RL

Rachel Lessem, JD, PhD

Research Scientist
Leonard Schanfield Research Institute
CJE SeniorLife
Chicago, Illinois, United States

Co-Chair(s)

Martina Roes, RN, PhD, FGSA, FAAN

Professor for nursing Science and Health care research
Person-Centered-Dementia-Care
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)
Witten, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Discussant(s)

Katherine Abbott, PhD, MGS, FGSA

Executive Director, Scripps Gerontology Center Professor, Department of Sociology & Gerontology
Sociology & Gerontology
Miami University
Oxford, Ohio, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

RL

Rachel Lessem, JD, PhD

Research Scientist
Leonard Schanfield Research Institute
CJE SeniorLife
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Erin McGaffigan, PhD

Policy and Research Fellow
LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston
UMASS Boston Gerontology Institute
North Reading, Massachusetts, United States
AR

Andy Rapoport, MPH

Project Manager
Leonard Schanfield Research Institute
CJE SeniorLife
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Jen Hirsch, LMSW, APHSW-C (any pronouns)

Social Work Doctoral Student
Social Work
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan, United States

There has been a recent movement towards greater involvement of the patient/person voice in aging research. However, many researchers embark on engaged research without adequate training or knowledge and without the skills or experience to train those they hope to engage. We define engaged research as research topics, designs, methods, analyses and/or dissemination strategies that have been informed through collaboration with or input from those who have a direct stake in research. This symposium explores education as a method of engaged research and is premised on the notion that engaged research enriches our discovery and ultimately leads to better outcomes in interventions as well as policy. There is an identified need for training of researchers as well as stakeholders in order to do successful engaged research. This symposium details educational methods for training those who utilize engaged research: student, researcher, and patient/person stakeholder, culminating in an examination of supporting patients in being trainers themselves. The first presentation investigates an overarching educational strategy to change the research paradigm. The second presentation explores a unique method for training researchers to engage older adults as advisory board members. The third presentation details a strategy for training a specific group of older adults to be active in engaged research. The symposium concludes by highlighting a method by which older adults engage in a research intervention as trainers. Attendees will be able to identify and evaluate the outcomes of the different educational methods and translate these methods to new settings.

Learning Objectives:

To identify the training needs of students, researchers, and patient/person stakeholders to participate in engaged research.
To detail the different methods to training students, researchers, and patient/person stakeholders to successfully participate in engaged research.
To explore the approaches to addressing potential barriers in training for engaged research

Presentations:

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET

Training Researchers to Create Research Advisory Boards With Older Adults
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Rachel N. Lessem, JD, PhD – CJE SeniorLife
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET

Building Capacity for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research in Aging Research: Training Across the Continuum
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Erin McGaffigan, PhD – UMASS Boston Gerontology Institute
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET

Training Long-Term Survivors of HIV to Engage in Research to Identify Priorities for Aging With HIV
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Andy S. Rapoport, MPH – CJE SeniorLife
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET

Recruiting, Facilitating, and Supporting Persons Living With Dementia as Trainers in Research
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Jen Hirsch, LMSW, APHSW-C (any pronouns) – Michigan State University