Integrating a Community Advisory Board Into a Pragmatic Trial of Mindfulness for Chronic Low Back Pain

Natalia E Morone; Elondra D Harr; Jose E Baez; Ruth D Rodriguez; Suzanne M Lawrence; Jessica L Barnhill; Isabel Roth

doi:10.1177/27536130241231736

Integrating a Community Advisory Board Into a Pragmatic Trial of Mindfulness for Chronic Low Back Pain

Glob Adv Integr Med Health. 2024 Feb 5:13:27536130241231736. doi: 10.1177/27536130241231736. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.

Authors

Natalia E Morone^{1

2}, Elondra D Harr³, Jose E Baez¹, Ruth D Rodriguez¹, Suzanne M Lawrence³, Jessica L Barnhill⁴, Isabel Roth⁴

Affiliations

¹ Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
² Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
³ Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁴ Program on Integrative Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Abstract

Background: To improve the implementation of clinical trial interventions, there is a need to facilitate communication between key stakeholders and research teams. Community Advisory Boards (CAB) bring together a range of stakeholders not historically included in the research process to inform and work collaboratively with research teams.

Objective: To describe our procedures and processes for (1) integration of a CAB into a pragmatic clinical trial of a telehealth-delivered group mindfulness program for persons with chronic low back pain (cLBP) within primary care, and (2) for the rapid uptake and implementation of CAB recommendations.

Methods: The CAB we convened includes persons with cLBP who have undergone the mindfulness intervention, health care system leadership, advocacy groups, and mindfulness experts. The CAB members underwent a two hour initial training that introduced the research process and the CAB's role as research partners. The CAB met monthly for 1 hour. We used the Lighting Report method to summarize meetings and share feedback with the research team.

Results: The recommendations of the CAB during the first year they met were divided into recruitment, informed consent, and survey recommendations. The study website also was overhauled based on recommendations, including a more engaging first page with rotating images of nature and testimonials. The language on the website was edited to be more concise and participant-friendly. The CAB recommended talking points to discuss with participants during screening or informed consent about the benefits of participating in research.

Conclusion: We established a CAB that represented diverse perspectives, organizations, and experience with cLBP and mindfulness. The differing perspectives of the CAB resulted in recommendations that the research team itself would not have decided on their own. The Lightning Reports were also an effective way to efficiently communicate the CAB recommendations to the research team.

Keywords: chronic pain; clinical trials; community health partnerships; mindfulness.

Grants and funding

UH3 AT010621/AT/NCCIH NIH HHS/United States