Development of guidelines to improve the effectiveness of community advisory boards in health research

Background: Community advisory boards (CABs) are a common community engagement strategy. Tools for developing CABs that are accessible to academic–community partnerships are limited. This article describes the process and partnership with the Hopi Tribe to develop CAB guidelines as a tool for research funded by the Center for Indigenous Environmental Health Research (CIEHR) and nonaffiliated projects. Methods: The CAB guidelines consist of three sections: formation, operation, and sustainability and evaluation. Each section includes best practices and interactive worksheets. The CAB guidelines were piloted with the Hopi Tribe to determine feasibility and relevance. Results: The CAB guidelines were well-received by the tribal CAB. Some of the worksheets were difficult to complete because they did not represent their perspectives or introduced potential tension in CAB interactions. Revisions were made accordingly. Conclusions: Future evaluation and broad dissemination of the CAB guidelines will promote the use and effectiveness of CABs in health research.