Community Conversations – Chicago, Illinois

The report below summarizes key insights and outcomes from the Chicago Community Conversation. This conversation aimed to gather perspectives from individual community members on barriers and opportunities for integrating meaningful community engagement into clinical research. The findings may be used to inform the ENGAGE Working Group and future efforts related to community engagement.

Final Chicago Community Report
Final Chicago Report (Spanish Version)

The above figure was shared with attendees to get individual perspectives on the ease of understanding and usability of this potential public engagement model.  NIH invites all interested individuals to provide their thoughts on this model.  If you would like to add your voice to the conversation, please email your thoughts to [email protected].

Twenty-nine community members took part in the Chicago community conversation, held in Spanish, at the Pilsen Arts and Community Center. Individual community members emphasized the need for researchers to share study findings in clear and relatable ways that connect to people’s everyday lives. Individuals also highlighted the importance of everyone involved in research—such as funders, researchers, and participants—staying accountable throughout the entire process. Additionally, individuals stressed the value of having strong support systems to keep the community involved in research, making it sustainable and engaging for the long term.

The illustration above is a graphical summary of comments from the attendees of the Chicago community conversation.