Using Community-Based Participatory Research to Conduct a Collaborative Needs Assessment of Mental Health Service Users: Identifying Research Questions and Building Academic-Community Trust

Attempts to meaningfully engage people with serious mental illnesses (SMI) as allies in conducting research have often failed because researchers tend to decide on the research topic without including community members. Academic researchers can avoid this pitfall by collaborating with community members to conduct a needs assessment to identify relevant research topics and build trust. Here, we report on the results of a psychosocial needs assessment for adult mental health service users in Massachusetts conducted by an academic-peer research team. The project was initiated as part of an academic mental health center’s efforts to conduct community-based participatory research (CBPR) with a group of people with SMI. People with SMI were hired and trained to co-lead research projects and the development of the listening group guide, and they conducted 18 listening groups with 159 adults with mental health conditions. The data were transcribed, and rapid analysis employing qualitative and matrix classification methods was used to identify service need themes. Six themes emerged from qualitative analysis: reduce community and provider stigma, improve access to services, focus on the whole person, include peers in recovery care, have respectful and understanding clinicians, and recruit diverse staff. The policy and practice implications of these findings include creating a stronger culture of innovation within provider organizations, developing specific plans for improving recruitment and retention of peer workers and a multicultural workforce, enhancing training and supervision in cultural humility, communicating respectfully with clients, and including peers in quality improvement activities.