Boston HealthNet (BHN) Research Collaborative

• Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program
• Codman Square Health Center
• DotHouse Health
• East Boston Neighborhood Health Center
• Greater Roslindale Medical & Dental
• Manet Community Health Center
• Mattapan Community Health Center
• South Boston Community Health Center
• Upham’s Corner Health Center

Step 1: Review the Health Center Bios to identify potential partners

• Health Center Bios include patient demographics of the CHC, the CHC’s research priorities, and best practices of research methodology

Step 2: Review the Guiding Principles & Rules of Engagement and complete the BHN Project Request Form

Use the BHN Project Request Form to outline your proposed project as soon as you have a project in mind, ideally one month before grant submission.

• Submitting the form automatically sends an email to the Research Liaison for each Health Center checked in the survey
• The Guiding Principles & Rules of Engagement is utilized by CHCs in decision-making for research participation. By including Health Centers in planning, we aim to turn participation into equitable partnership and ensure regular and transparent communication and that Health Center workflow impact and necessary supports are being considered
• Questions populated in the form will depend on which category your project falls under. This question is essential to make sure the appropriate information is collected. Categories include:
  1. Planning for grant submission and would like to partner with a BHN CHC
  2. Funding awarded, but project has not started and would like to partner with a BHN CHC
  3. Active research project in which you would like to add an addendum to include a BHN CHC
  4. Data only: Request for CHC data use in active research study (to be abstracted from the CDW)
     
  5. Data only: Request for CHC data use in feasibility analysis (to be abstracted from the CDW)
• Special cases to consider:
  1. If you are in the process of completing or have already completed an IRB application, the BHN Project Request Form will replace the old Project Summary Form. The Research Liaison will return the Request Form with the appropriate signature to the IRB once the Health Center(s) Leadership has approved participation in the project.
  2. Requests for data from the Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW) must first be submitted and approved by the CDW
  3. Aggregate count requests are approved by the BHN Research Data Review Committee and will have a 2-business day turnaround time.

Step 3: Research Liaisons will provide a written decision on research participation within 2 weeks of receiving requests.

Step 4: Once the partnership has been established and both parties are in agreement, the CHC will provide a signed Approval Letter for you to submit to the IRB. At that point research activities may begin within the CHC.

• If you have any questions, please reach out to Rebecca Lobb Assistant Director of the BU CTSI CE Program or Allyson Richmond, Program Manager of Boston HealthNet.
• You may also request a consultation to learn more about the BHN Research Collaborative process by emailing the BU CTSI CE Program.
  

• Download the full Guide for Partnering with BHN CHCs in Research.
• Download the full BHN Project Request Form. Please note that not all questions in the PDF form may be applicable to complete.