As community engagement (CE) is increasingly a requirement of many NIH grants, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA) sites must demonstrate their capacity to integrate CE strategies within research and the benefits to the research outcomes. One approach to achieve these goals is to provide CE support in languages other than English, so we can serve the needs of the diverse and multilingual communities we serve. However, too often translation and interpretation activities are viewed as additional steps that are too challenging or time consuming to justify.

Northwestern University’s Center for Community Health provides a range of programs and services intended to foster and support community-engaged research (CEnR) partnerships. These partnerships improve research feasibility, relevance, and can reach communities that may be unfamiliar with research and/or have negative perceptions of research. To effectively engage Chicago’s Latinx communities and continue fostering culturally responsive engagement in research, our center has begun providing some CE services in Spanish.

The Spanish language is made up of many different dialects. To provide appropriate Spanish translation and interpretation for a CE service, our team assesses several factors including translation and interpretation needs of the project; team capacity; staff translation/interpretation experiences; and willingness of the research teams to accept coaching and collaborate. Presenters will share “effective practices” and lessons learned based on their experiences ensuring the availability of translation and interpretation of CE services to effectively engage Spanish-speaking communities.