Evaluating the reach, effectiveness, and maintenance of an online spinal cord injury research advocacy course to train research partners

Study Design: Three-wave prospective. Objectives: Examine the impact of the North American Spinal Cord Injury Consortium’s Spinal Cord Injury Research Advocacy Course (SCI-RAC) using the RE-AIM framework. Setting: North America. Methods: The RE-AIM domains for reach, effectiveness, and maintenance were assessed. Reach measures included participant enrollment (number and representativeness) and course completion. Primary effectiveness measures included changes in knowledge of the spinal cord injury (SCI) research process and perceived capacity to advocate/partner in research. Satisfaction and learning experiences were secondary effectiveness measures. Participant enrollment, perceived capacity to advocate/partner, and five satisfaction and learning experiences questions on overall knowledge and application were repeated as maintenance measures. Results: Of the 248 participants who completed the pre-survey, 20% (n=50) and 9% (n=22) completed the course (and the post-survey) and 6-month surveys, respectively. Most participants who completed SCI-RAC were white (67%) and of high socioeconomic status (30%). No associations were found between demographics, perceived capacity to partner, and course completion. Significant improvements were observed in participants’ knowledge of the SCI research process (Glass’ delta= 0.50, p <0.001) and perceived capacity to partner (e.g., capability: Glass’ delta=0.59, p <0.001). Participants reported high levels of satisfaction and positive learning experiences. Conclusions: SCI-RAC showed initial improvements in course participants’ knowledge and perceived capacity to partner, and participants were satisfied with the course. Findings suggest that NASCIC may want to review their recruitment strategies to reach more equity-owed groups and consider offering SCI-RAC alongside interventions that connect researchers and research users to continue improving the practice of SCI research partnerships.