Emma

Research co-ordinator in community-based research

Emma is a coordinator for a breast cancer research group at a local hospital and has a background in social work. During graduate school, Emma became involved in a community-based research project which aimed to increase rates of cervical cancer screening in Somalian women. Participants were invited to be a part of the research team and had a role in many aspects of the project, such as helping to find more or new patients to participate, project planning, and helping to lead focus groups. Emma credits the participants’ feedback throughout the project, including sharing their lived experiences with cervical cancer, as contributors that led to the success of the project. Emma was then hired as a research coordinator on a project about experiences with breast cancer survivorship within immigrant communities. Using her prior experience with co-design, Emma’s role is to connect with breast cancer survivors within this population and get them involved in the project as a contributing partner. She firmly believes that research partnerships will become more common and hopes that guidelines and resources will be made more freely available. Emma recommends that researchers should plan early on in the research process for how they will involve patients/caregivers, and that patients/caregivers should ask research teams similar questions to what one might ask about a volunteer or employment position (e.g., What will be my role? How many hours/week are required?).

 

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• Challenging Experiences – Emma (2)
  
• Challenging Experiences – Emma
  Emma highlights common barriers, such as language or accessible childcare, in research that can affect diversity of patient partners
• Supports needed – Emma
  It is important that researchers and patients are learning together, from Emma’s perspective.
• Diversity – Emma
  Community agencies and members can help with recruitment suggests Emma
• Valuing contributions – Emma
  The fact that everyone was paid contributed to a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere in Emma’s project
• Skills for partnership – Emma
  Self-awareness and patience are key skills for researchers, according to Emma
• Role determination – Emma
  Patient partners on Emma’s team took on roles that matched their interests
• Path to involvement – Emma
  Emma found a job as a coordinator that combined her interests in social work and research