CHAT Sessions
CHAT Sessions are forums that give researchers powerful community insights to enhance their study idea or protocol.
Giving Minnesotans a voice in health research
Participating in a CHAT Session allows people who’ve been impacted by a health issue to share their experiences with researchers who are studying that topic.
Easy for researchers
Format
- 90-minute sessions.
- Typically virtual, but can be in-person.
- Facilitated by a community partner, the SoLaHmo Partnership for Health and Wellness.
- Up to 10 attendees.
- Research team is invited to listen.
- Report includes findings and community panelist recommendations.
Get started
- Request support. Completing our intake form allows us to best assist you.
- We will review your response and follow up. Next steps may include moving on to set up a CHAT Session, referrals to CTSI services and resources, a consultation with our staff, or sharing additional resources that may better fit your needs.
What to expect
Our role
- Plan and manage the CHAT Session. We handle all aspects of the session, which is tailored to meet the needs of the researcher.
- Recruit community panelists. Panelists are chosen based on the researcher’s criteria. They may include patients, family members/caregivers, advocates, residents, or others impacted by a given health issue.
- Host a facilitated conversation. Community facilitators represent a spectrum of identities, experiences, and languages.
- Provide a summary report. This will include the CHAT Session’s major themes and takeaways, which will be sent to the researchers.
Researcher role
CHAT Sessions require only a small amount of time for researchers. They typically spend an average of five hours planning for and participating in a CHAT Session.
- Support planning efforts. Attend two planning meetings, provide background information, and participate in a post-session debrief.
- Actively listen. During the CHAT Session, listen to the community panelists and give clarifications as needed.
Researcher outcomes
New community-University partnership
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences
Enhanced research design
Medical School
Improved recruitment plans and materials
School of Public Health
What researchers say
"I want to highlight the immense value of a CHAT Session based on my recent experience. Engaging in a CHAT Session brings together individuals with [varying] areas of expertise who are not only willing but intentional in contributing their insights. This creates an atmosphere of compassion and purpose, leading to open and honest discussions that can deeply enrich the research process. A CHAT Session offers a unique platform to connect and learn around a specific aspects involving community engagement of your research project.“
"This service is amazing, and the team carrying it out is stellar. I'm going to be recommending it to my colleagues.”
“Thank you for providing this service! What an incredible gift to our research team! Organizing all of these community experts and taking notes for us was extremely helpful. The CHAT team was fantastic to work with. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Great to know that we are on the right track with activities/efforts we already value when it comes to building trust with youth in the community. [...] The community experts confirmed the importance of this approach. So we will continue on the path of building relationships with community-based organizations as we plan for our next grant.”
“We have had a major breakthrough with the beginnings of some great collaborative work with Youthprise. We are very excited about this partnership with Youthprise, and may co-author a larger grant with them in the future.”
Budgeting for CHAT sessions
What community panelists say
"My overall experience has been so amazing and a lovely experience to take part in this study."
"My experience was so wonderful and I felt very welcomed and inclusive."
"Very satisfied with the host and coordinators of the research."
"Wonderful experience."
Frequently asked questions
What study phase is best suited for CHAT Sessions?
A CHAT Session can inform any phase of a research project, including:
- Research questions
- Proposal development
- Research design
- Implementation
- Dissemination
Can I recruit the people from the CHAT Session to participate in my study?
You may not use the CHAT Session to recruit study participants. You may, however, share information about the study so people can contact you or your research staff for more information outside of the CHAT Session.
How long does the process take?
It typically takes eight weeks from the time a CHAT Session is requested to the time a researcher can expect the final report and debrief meeting.
Sessions are typically held six to seven weeks after a researcher has requested one, to allow time to plan the session that’s tailored to the researcher’s needs and recruit community panelists.
Week 1: Consultation and meeting #1
- Researcher completes the request form.
- Meeting #1: We meet with the researcher to discuss form responses, timeline, population, purpose, financial expectations, etc.
Weeks 2–5: Planning meetings #2 and #3
- Prior to the second meeting, the researcher completes the CHAT Session worksheet.
- Meeting #2: We meet with the researcher and SoLaHmo (our community partner facilitator) to discuss CHAT Session objectives, inclusion attendee criteria, potential questions, and possible session dates.
- Meeting #3: We meet with the researcher and SoLaHmo to discuss flyer content and finalize facilitation questions.
- Our team recruits community panelists, which takes approximately two to three weeks.
- We confirm CHAT Session panelists, date, and time, in consultation with SoLaHmo and researcher.
Weeks 6–7: CHAT Session
- SoLaHmo facilitates the CHAT Session.
- During the CHAT Session, the researcher provides a five-minute introduction on the session’s purpose and then serves in a listening role.
Week 8: Evaluation and summary report
Our team:
- Sends a summary report to researcher and SoLaHmo.
- Sends an evaluation form to community panelists, researchers, and SoLaHmo facilitators.
- Compensates community panelists.
- Hosts a final meeting with the researcher and SoLaHmo to discuss findings and next steps.
Can I pick or recommend specific people to participate?
You may provide suggestions about who to recruit. However, we ultimately determine the recruitment process and venues and conduct the recruitment, which is a benefit of the CHAT Session for researchers and may broaden the representation of participants.
Why is there a facilitator? Can I facilitate myself?
CHAT Sessions use a trained community facilitator who has experience working with group processes and understands the principles of community engagement. Using an independent facilitator allows a researcher to listen to feedback and ask for clarification without having the responsibility of leading the process.
Who develops the questions?
Questions are co-designed by facilitators and the requesting research team.
Can the information from CHAT Sessions be used for research purposes or publication?
It depends on how you intend to use the information. It is acceptable to describe the process and the input that you received. However, because those who participated in the CHAT Session are not research participants, you cannot provide details of who participated or analyze the input by any demographics.
More about CHAT Sessions
The CHAT Session model is modified from Community Engagement Studios, which was originally developed by Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Research and was featured in an Academic Medicine innovation report.