WHO ARE WE?
HoPeNET is a study that will capture the experience of CAB (Community Advisory Board) members in order to systematically evaluate barriers and facilitators to clinical trial participation, while also exposing investigators to the expertise of the CAB members.
Mission, Vision & Goals
HoPeNet seeks to address barriers like mistrust and access to healthcare, through community-based participatory research (CBPR) which has emerged to engage communities at all stages of a research study life cycle from study design through dissemination of results.
Our History
In 2013, our organization’s long-standing community engagement in Washington, DC led us to collaborate with the Social Determinants of Obesity and Cardiovascular (CV) Risk Laboratory (PI: Powell-Wiley) in the NIH IRP to establish the Washington, DC CV Health and Needs Assessment (DC-CHNA). We designed the DC-CHNA using a community-based approach because future intervention development and testing based on community-based principles can occur in collaboration with community partners, which enhances intervention suitability and sustainability. (1-4)
The DC-CHNA began by establishing a community advisory board, the DC CV Health and Obesity Collaborative (DC CHOC). DC CHOC CAB includes community members at large, representatives from the DC area faith-based community, local and federal health agencies (i.e. DC Department of Health), non-profit and health care organizations (i.e. American Heart Association), and academia with expertise in nutrition, physical activity, behavioral health science, and community mobilization and health.
DC CHOC CAB meets quarterly and primarily at Howard University (now meeting virtually due to the pandemic). DC CHOC CAB agendas include briefings on relevant studies conducted at Howard University and NIH, dissemination of the study’s findings and announcements of related community health advocacy events. CAB members share their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes about study design, development, and outcomes at each meeting.
The DC-CHOC subsequently has consulted on the design and implementation of several community-based interventions from NIH, including Step It Up, a multi-level, technology-enabled adaptive physical activity intervention targeting at-risk AA women in Washington, DC (12) and DC COOKS (Community Organizing for Optimal culinary Knowledge Study) with Heart, a dietary behavior intervention study for AA adults living within low-resource food environments in Washington, DC.
Recognizing the added value of the CAB on advising protocols in multiple stages of development, led to the formation of HoPeNET in 2020. HoPeNET is a study that will capture the experience of CAB members in order to systematically evaluate barriers and facilitators to clinical trial participation, while also exposing investigators to the expertise of the CAB members.