Objective
Citizen science – “the scientific activities in which non-professional scientists volunteer to participate in data collection, analysis and dissemination of a scientific project.” Our goal is to use this definition to co-create an immersive training program to lift voices of the lung cancer community. Our goal is two-fold: establish Citizen Scientists in lung cancer and boost community engagement by empowering graduated Citizen Scientists to partner on patient-centered comparative effectiveness research (CER) to ensure clinical research provides quality, relevant, and useful evidence for decision makers and disseminate results authentically.
Our specific aims are:
- Build a hands-on training program focused on reducing barriers so Citizen Science graduates can co-create outcomes that are relevant to patients and caregivers and to promote intergenerational and multicultural lived experiences.
- Develop an open-source playbook to help build a Citizen Science program at other advocacy or research groups. Materials will be modular so that the program can be tailored to capabilities and community citizens.