Table 6 CBO administrators, recruiters, and compañeras perceptions of shared power and capacity building

Equity Outcome: Shared Power

Partnership structural dynamics

“Funding is always an issue, it’s always helpful. We were grateful that the compañeras were able to be paid, and as an organization to be given some financial support. In any type of research project, I think that community partner must be considered, to be given some type of financial support. And we did appreciate the funding that was afforded to us. More would’ve been great but understood the tight nature of the funding constraints.”–CBO administrator

Partnership collaboration

“I appreciated the fact that they were very team player, team oriented. So, it was always us, ‘We’re doing this project.’ It always involved everybody else. It wasn’t just, ‘Oh, you know, it’s our project and you guys are just helping us.’ Every step of the way, it was very ‘our project’.“–CBO administrator

“I think the research staff were incredibly supportive; they were very respectful and engaging and collaborative at every step of the way.”–CBO administrator

Opportunity for information exchange

“We were always communicating. We had the monthly conference calls that were really helpful for the staff. Any issue that came up, we were able to resolve them. Having experience with other projects, their communication was excellent compared to other ones that I worked with.”–CBO administrator

Mutual respect

“[The academic team] are very professional. They’re very respectful of who they are helping, the individual, the participant, and very respectful to us as organizations. And I appreciated that, because there was an awareness of the impact to our very busy space, and yet, our commitment to making sure that things were rolling out well.”–CBO administrator

Academic team’s reputation working with community

“Working with [academic principal investigator] team - I’ve worked with many researchers, and she’s very professional, she’s very sensitive to the community, sensitive to the needs of the organization, and she’s a professional. And so, for us, it’s very important who we partner with.“–CBO administrator

“I think the study’s structure itself and the caliber of research that was occurring is very refreshing. We’ve participated in a lot of different studies; most were excellent, a couple were not. And so, I’m pretty selective, now, who I partner with, and so working with [academic partner principal investigator] is a great research partner.”–CBO administrator

Equity Outcome: Capacity Building

Training and technical support

• Training

“I think the training you gave us is terrific. Putting it into practice at first one feels nervous. But once you start, well, you learn along with [participants]. But I think the training needs to be extended a little more in–in some areas that would prepare us a little more.”–Compañera

“Well, [the compañera supervisor] did the training for the compañeras and that went over really well.”–CBO administrator

“One of my recruiters expressed the desire to have been included in the compañera training…so that she had a broader, more comprehensive understanding of what was going to be offered to the women.”–CBO administrator

• Providing ongoing technical support

“[The compañera supervisor] came down and did a couple of site visits and reviewed with the compañera.”–CBO administrator

“[The academic partner] even came down and went to like six or seven doctors’ offices with one of the recruiters. They went together and did that outreach to connect with doctor’s offices, you know, that was wonderfully supportive.“–CBO administrator

“[The academic team] was always there to support us, they answered us quickly, they cleared up our doubts.”–Recruiter

“The only thing that I can think of – or if they offered this or not – talking to women can be very emotionally draining, and so sometimes, the compañeras needed to talk to somebody just to kind of process those feelings and emotions so maybe offer some additional support for them. But I know that [compañera supervisor] was available to them if they needed to do that.”–CBO administrator

• Role modeling

“At first for me [the program] was difficult, but with the help of [the other compañera] I learned a lot by observing her.”–Compañera

“Also, my colleagues, the other recruiters from the other agencies, shared their [recruitment] experiences, those helped too.”–Recruiter

Individual-level capacity

• Compañeras enhanced capacity to deliver program

“I thought that perhaps I had not learned anything [in the training] and maybe needed more training, but when I had to start, I turned to the manual, and that’s when I started to realize that I could do it. Also talking to [participants] about our own experience and about the experience they are going through, it was very easy for me. It was not difficult for me.”–Compañera

• Compañeras self-application of program skills

“I feel that I learned a lot because I think that it helps in all aspects of life, not only with the cancer. I think that it would help us in everything. There are times that with the simple fact of work, one is very negative, one is very stressed. So, I feel that this helped me in all areas of life, not only with cancer.”–Compañera

• Recruiters increased research skills capacity

“I also think it was successful because it expanded into the saliva and hair samples for the study, which historically, Latinas are pretty aversive or they’re a little guarded when it comes to participating in studies. So, the beautiful way that the recruiters were able to explain the whole process in a trusting way was really beneficial.”–CBO administrator

“I only wanted to say, at school when I was in my master’s degree we talked about research. And with this program, I saw it in action – what a control group and intervention group are, the surveys, and how it all comes to life instead of reading it in a book.”–Recruiter

• Recruiters’ increased knowledge

“For me working at the agency with women, I see how they come, anxious or sad because of their diagnosis. But it was a very different experience when I went to their homes to do the interview. I got to look at other aspects of her life. When I was in their houses, they talked about topics that they would not mention here. That was something that left an impression on me. I think that it helped me to grow to look beyond their diagnosis, to think about everything else that people are going through or have gone through.”–Recruiter

“I think that for me, the questionnaire opened up my perspective. For example, asking the questions about if she is sexually satisfied or questions like depression, anxiety, I could see how they were in those aspects, and I could suggest a gynecologist or something else. I think that opened up my perspective a little bit.”–Recruiter

CBO-level capacity

• Enhanced CBO program capacity

“Well, I guess it increased our capacity because we were all trained on this new curriculum on this new program that we’ll be able to offer the community in the future.”–CBO administrator

“When we are given something to help the people we serve, we will maximize it. This skillset of coping skills can be expanded we can utilize it with men, we can utilize it with women, with any cancer, in any stage. When we participate in research, it is an opportunity for my agency and for my staff for capacity-building. We don’t have a budget for staff development. And so, we adapt to the needs of the research project with our own skillset, but we expand our skillset.” –CBO administrator

• Enhanced CBO research skills capacity

“I learned a lot. Where do I start? So, I learned, of course, about the IRB process and why that’s important. I learned about what it means to be part of a research study, how to keep everything ethical as possible.”–CBO administrator

“We would be receptive to another study. I’m thankful that we had this experience because it prepared us to expand to other research projects that we are currently engaged in. Research is a very important element within our organization, as is the direct patient experience, and the capacity-building of my staffing, as well as the organization overall. We just applied for our first grant as Co-PI [with the same funder] and it’s my first experience as a Co-PI.”–CBO administrator

• Enhanced CBO’s reputation

“It helped bring awareness to the community, it helped us to better articulate and market what we’re doing as an organization –helps towards the sustainability of our organization and our work.“–CBO administrator

“The other thing, too, that we didn’t anticipate, is the hospital decided to do an open house and so, they sent a press release. They included Nuevo Amanecer, that was really interesting to the media. We got a call from Univision and I did an interview about the project. So, that was something a little bit unexpected, and I think also, it makes our organization look in a positive light for the community, because we are involved in these types of studies.”–CBO administrator