Sumter County Planning Department

For 10 years, the Deep South Network for Cancer Control (DSNCC) focused on training and deploying community health advisors (CHAs) to promote cancer screening and healthy lifestyle through education/outreach activities. In 2009, the request for application (RFA) for renewal of the DSNCC required a controlled research intervention. Converting from education/outreach to research proved more problematic than expected. The objective of this article was to describe the challenges and solutions during this conversion and to describe the importance of education/outreach to community infrastructure. This is a qualitative assessment of the challenges and solutions encountered in conducting a controlled weight loss trial in a community setting in which education/outreach had been the priority. The DSNCC provides a model for overcoming the unique challenges of converting a longstanding education/outreach program into a controlled research program. Although multiple challenges were encountered in conducting a community-based participatory research (CBPR) controlled trial, solutions were developed and the trial continues as proposed.