Health equity in action: Using community-engaged research to update an intervention promoting a healthy home food environment to Black/African American families

Authors: Thompson, Deborah - Debbe; CALLENDER, CHISHINGA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); DAVE, JAYNA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); JIBAJA-WEISS, MARIA - Baylor College Of Medicine; MONTEALEGRE, JANE - Md Anderson Cancer Center

Submitted to: Cancer Causes and Control
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/5/2023
Publication Date: 9/22/2023
Citation: Thompson, D.J., Callender, C., Dave, J.M., Jibaja-Weiss, M.L., Montealegre, J.R. 2023. Health equity in action: Using community-engaged research to update an intervention promoting a healthy home food environment to Black/African American families. Cancer Causes and Control. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01753-4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-023-01753-4

Interpretive Summary: Community-engaged research is an important intervention development technique. It is usually conducted in person; however, the restrictions during the COVID epidemic made that infeasible. We modified the Delphi Technique, a consensus-building technique typically conducted anonymously, to serve as a remote method for conducting community-engaged research via Zoom. It resulted in high levels of engagement and agreement, and provided key insights regarding intervention adaptations and implementation strategies. This work resulted in an innovative method for conducting remote community-engaged research, thus providing an opportunity to conduct community-engaged research in a manner that is both convenient to participants and informative for researchers.

Technical Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe the method for conducting community-engaged research to identify needed changes for an existing evidence-based intervention, and prepare it for implementation in a community setting within the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center catchment area in an effort to achieve more equitable outcomes in diet-related disease risk factors. The intervention, Family Eats, was developed over 10 years ago. It works directly with parents of Black/African American 9–12 year old children to create a healthy home food environment to support prevention of obesity and related cancers. Data collection with community stakeholders occurred through a series of Community Advisory Board (CAB) meetings guided by the Delphi Technique, an iterative approach for gaining group consensus on a topic. Key information on needed changes and potential implementation strategies were identified. Perceived level of engagement among CAB members was high overall and in terms of both quantity and quality. The Delphi Technique shows promise as a method for conducting community-engaged research that promotes engagement and identifies key information needed to adapt and implement an existing intervention in a community setting.