COMMUNITY CASE STUDY article
Front. Med.
Sec. Healthcare Professions Education
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1642655
This article is part of the Research TopicDissemination and Implementation Science in MedicineView all 17 articles
Community case study of patient and clinician early engagement in research on multiple chronic conditions using an implementation guide
Provisionally accepted
Constance van Eeghen1*
Georgia Brown1
Beverly Canin2Juvena Hitt1Kairn Stetler Kelley3Kennedy Paron1Toni Robinson1Hanna Schwietzer1Haley Van Serke1Jennifer O'Rourke Lavoie1- 1University of Vermont The Robert Larner MD College of Medicine, Burlington, United States
- 2Cancer and Aging Research Group, Duarte, United States
- 3Curiosity Trust, LLC, Montpelier, United States
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This case study describes the CIRCLE (Collaboratively Inspired Research Community for Learning and Engagement) project, which aimed to advance meaningful community engagement in research about multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) by co-creating a research agenda with patients, caregivers, clinicians, and researchers. The project was conducted entirely virtually, utilizing a structured process with engagement tools adapted from a prior Patient Partner Guide. It included three stages: 1) develop the virtual environment and adapt the engagement process and tools, 2) recruit and train co-creators and facilitators to test the process and tools collaboratively and make iterative improvements, and 3) implement these tools in ten-week group sessions. Project participants in the group sessions - adults with or caring for individuals with MCCs - were recruited from a previous national trial. They engaged in interactive activities such as needs assessments related to engagement, Affinity Diagrams, and Shared Lived Experiences. Results demonstrated success in two domains: 1) successful engagement in early stages of collaborative research as measured by recruitment (59 initial participants) and high levels of retention (89%) and participation (100% completion of initial assessment; 78%-82% of other assessments and activities; positive qualitative evaluations) and 2) successful completion of a Partnering Guide for Research (PGR) and a prioritized research agenda for MCCs. The project is a demonstration of intentional, structured virtual engagement processes and supportive environments fostering equitable partnerships and trust while producing intended products. The PGR is a replicable implementation guide to be used by other teams seeking to integrate community voices into health research starting with a research agenda.
Keywords: Community Engagement, multiple chronic conditions, Research agenda, partnering implementation guide, case study
Received: 06 Jun 2025; Accepted: 15 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 van Eeghen, Brown, Canin, Hitt, Kelley, Paron, Robinson, Schwietzer, Van Serke and O'Rourke Lavoie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Constance van Eeghen, cvaneegh@med.uvm.edu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.