Community-institutional partnerships: understanding trust among partners.
This study examines perceptions about trust among people engaged in community-institutional partnerships. Focus groups were conducted with community, health department, and academic representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Prevention Research Centers Program. When asked to describe expectations about working with partners, the main themes identified were skepticism, optimism, and anticipation of challenges for community, health department, and academic representatives, respectively. Key themes identified as facilitating trust were related to characteristics of individuals (e.g., building interpersonal relationships), while barriers to trust were associated with organizational characteristics (e.g., academic reward systems). When explicitly asked, participants depicted the "object" of trust as residing at the individual level. Findings highlight the importance of partners' initial expectations in developing or eroding trust, the differences in factors that facilitate and hinder trust, and the important distinction between individuals and organizations as the object of trust.
White-Cooper
Sharrice
S
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adult and Community Health, Prevention Research Centers Program, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. swhite2@cdc.gov
Dawkins
Nicola U
NU
Kamin
Stephanie L
SL
Anderson
Lynda A
LA
D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration; D035502:Trust; D014481:United States