Capacity Building and Creating Supportive Environments for Inclusive Community-Based Participatory Research: A Case Study of the Overdose Prevention Peer Research Assistant (OPPRA) Project

Community members, service users, and people with lived experience, sometimes referred to as “peers,” are increasingly engaged in public health research and practice. The involvement of peers can enhance the acceptability and efficacy of public health interventions, foster trust, and is particularly significant in public health contexts characterized by stigma and criminalization. The involvement of peers in research, such as through community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches, presents important opportunities for meaningful community engagement. However, the complex challenges associated with research training, capacity building and creating supportive research environments remain underexplored in the literature, particularly for communities that experience social exclusion and marginalization. This study presents a case study of the Overdose Prevention Peer Research Assistant (OPPRA) Project, a CBPR initiative that meaningfully involved harm reduction workers and people who use drugs in research about overdose prevention sites. We describe how inclusion and shared decision-making were accomplished through tailored research training and capacity building with peers and the process of developing supportive research environments that integrate social supports and meet peer research assistants “where they are at.” Further, we outline innovative and collaborative methods for data gathering and analysis developed to involve peers at every step of the research process and share the results of this original research. Results demonstrate the potential for overdose prevention sites to serve as critical points of connection and promote human rights and wellbeing for peer workers, service users, and the broader community.