270 Evaluation of a community studio program to integrate lived experience across translational research

Objectives/Goals: Community engagement is required to translate scientific discovery into improvements in health. Lived experience is essential knowledge for translational research activities. Community studios facilitate interaction between researchers and community members, but mechanisms of how lived experience integrates into research are under explored. Methods/Study Population: The community studio program at the Center for Community Health Partnership and Research was evaluated through interviews with participating community health consultants (CHCs) and researchers. Fifteen facilitated community studios held since 2023 were included. Study participation was organized by studio: invitations went to all researchers, and then to three CHCs randomly selected from each researcher’s studio. Rapid qualitative analysis methods were used to create analysis templates based on key questions from the interview guide. Interview notes were summarized according to the template and compiled into matrices for study team reflection and discussion. Responses to key questions were articulated during group discussions and iteratively refined. Results/Anticipated Results: Thirteen researchers and 25 CHCs were interviewed from April to June 2025. Eighty-six percent of researchers had a research degree, either a PhD or Master’s; 85% were associate or full professors. None reported formal training in community engaged research. Several types of knowledge gaps were filled including correction of faulty assumptions, awareness of the impacts of SDOH, and ideas for solving operational challenges. CHCs were 80% female. CHCs felt valued during the studio experience, received benefit from hearing the lived experiences of others, and gained new perspectives on their health issue. CHCs expressed a desire to know the impact their participation had on the research, and several said they would have to see it to believe it. Both researchers and CHCs appreciated the expert facilitator. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Everyone learned during studios. Eliciting lived experience filled different knowledge gaps. Sharing provided social benefits and studios functioned like a third space, a merging between the built and social environment. An expert facilitator played key roles that included fostering belonging and translation of lived experience into knowledge.