02587nas a2200169   4500000000100000008004100001260003400042653005700076653002700133100001600160700001200176700001200188700001300200245008600213520209300299022002502392       2020                            d  bOxford University Press (OUP)10aPublic Health, Environmental and Occupational Health10aHealth(social science)1 aHumphries D1 aGupta R1 aDukpa T1 aWangmo D00aAssessing community health research capacity across stakeholders: adapting a tool3 a<jats:title>Summary</jats:title>
               <jats:p>Multi-sectoral collaborative approaches with strong community engagement are essential for addressing health disparities. A valid tool for assessing organizational research and capacity for community health research stakeholders could help strengthen organizational capacity for engagement in such collaborations. This study was conducted to validate an innovative tool for assessing research activity and capacity of a spectrum of stakeholder organizations to provide support for strengthening community health research capacity in Bhutan. In-person interviews with academics (n = 10), clinicians (n = 10), government staff (n = 10), consultants (n = 2) and management of health-related civil society organizations (CSOs; n = 12 interviews/organizations, 13 individuals) were recorded and transcribed. Questions covered individual and organizational research activity and capacity, research networks and an international version of the Community Research Assessment Tool (CREAT-I). Almost all participants (84%) had participated in community health research projects. Social network analysis showed a large, interconnected cluster with a few key individuals linking across sectors. CREAT-I responses identified the highest capacity in organizational support for research among academic participants, while clinical and CSO participants reported highest capacity in practical research experiences and government participants reported highest capacity in research specific experiences. The CREAT-I tool showed strong internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.91) and validity. Limited money, time and skilled staff were identified as barriers to research. The CREAT-I assesses community health research capacity of organizations, and such a tool could be useful in identifying research capacity needs, monitoring impact of research capacity-building activities and contributing to a greater capacity for multi-sectoral collaborative approaches to community health research in international settings.</jats:p>  a0957-4824, 1460-2245