TY  - JOUR
AU  - Fortuna, Karen L
AU  - Marceau, Skyla R
AU  - Kadakia, Arya
AU  - Pratt, Sarah I
AU  - Varney, Joy
AU  - Walker, Robert
AU  - Myers, Amanda L
AU  - Thompson, Shavon
AU  - Carter, Katina
AU  - Greene, Kaycie
AU  - Pringle, Willie
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/2/1
TI  - Peer Support Specialists’ Perspectives of a Standard Online Research Ethics Training: Qualitative Study
JO  - JMIR Form Res
SP  - e29073
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
KW  - peer support specialists
KW  - community engagement
KW  - research ethics
KW  - mental health
KW  - peer support
KW  - codebook
KW  - online health
KW  - online training
KW  - education
KW  - ethics
AB  - Background: Certified peer support specialists (CPS) have a mental health condition and are trained and certified by their respective state to offer Medicaid reimbursable peer support services. CPS are increasingly involved as partners in research studies. However, most research ethics training in the protection of human subjects is designed for people who, unlike CPS, have had exposure to prior formal research training. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of CPS in completing the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research online training. Methods: A total of 5 CPS were recruited using a convenience sample framework through the parent study, a patient-centered outcomes research study that examined the comparative effectiveness of two chronic health disease management programs for people with serious mental illness. Participants independently completed the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research online training. All participants completed 15 online modules in approximately 7-9 hours and also filled out a self-report measure of executive functioning (the Adult Executive Functioning Inventory [ADEXI]). Qualitative data were collected from a 1-hour focus group and qualitative analysis was informed by the grounded theory approach. The codebook consisted of codes inductively derived from the data. Codes were independently assigned to text, grouped, and checked for themes. Thematic analysis was used to organize themes. Results: Passing scores for each module ranged from 81%-89%, with an average of 85.4% and a median of 86%. The two themes that emerged from the focus group were the following: comprehension (barrier) and opportunity (facilitator). Participants had a mean score of 27.4 on the ADEXI. Conclusions: The CPS perceived the research ethics online training as an opportunity to share their lived experience expertise to enhance current research efforts by nonpeer scientists. Although the CPS completed the online research ethics training, the findings indicate CPS experienced difficulty with comprehension of the research ethics online training materials. Adaptations may be needed to facilitate uptake of research ethics online training by CPS and create a workforce of CPS to offer their lived experience expertise alongside peer and nonpeer researchers. 
SN  - 2561-326X
UR  - https://formative.jmir.org/2022/2/e29073
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/29073
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35103606
DO  - 10.2196/29073
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/29073
ER  -