A Community-Engaged Research Approach to the Development of an Assessment Tool for Historical Data Collection of SAARA Client Population

Through collaboration between the Substance Abuse and Addiction Recovery Alliance (SAARA) and several community partners, a need was identified for a new measurement tool to gather comprehensive client histories for program evaluation and development. The purpose of this study was to (1) develop a culturally relevant and organizationally appropriate mechanism for the collection of comprehensive client histories and (2) to provide the opportunity for staff to engage in a new process of developing and implementing data collection strategies. As a result of the use of a community-based participatory approach, (1) a missed opportunity for program evaluation and development was identified, (2) a community-based research study was developed, (3) staff were invested in development of the tool, and (4) staff engaged in a capacity-building exercise in which they were provided the skills and tools needed to replicate this process independently in the future