Minority health promotion is a high priority in Florida given health data evidencing that minorities in this state are disproportionately burdened by health disparities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is well-suited for developing culturally sensitive interventions to promote minority health. Community health workers (CHWs) are valuable partners in conducting such research. The Florida CHW Coalition (FCHWC), Inc. is spearheading efforts to include CBPR research training in the Florida CHW certification process and is calling attention to the roles CHWs can and do play in minority health promotion-focused CBPR. Thus, the FCHWC, Inc., the University of Florida Health Disparities Research and Intervention Program, and the Florida Health Equity Research Institute are partnering to spearhead the proposed conference titled The People?s Scientific Conference to Promote Minority Health through CBPR: CHWs Lead the Way. The broad, long-term objectives of this conference are to (a) increase participation in and leadership of minority health promotion-focused CBPR among CHWs and other community members and stakeholders, health researchers, providers, junior faculty, and doctoral/medical students in Florida and across the nation and (b) identify the barriers to CHW-partnered minority health promotion-focused CBPR and strategies to overcome these barriers so as to increase this type of research. The overall aim of this conference is to provide opportunities for CHWs and other community members and stakeholders, current and future health researchers, and providers to share strategies for working as equal partners to conduct and ultimately increase minority health promotion-focused CBPR in Florida and nationally. The major specific conference aims are to: (1) educate CHWs and other community members and stakeholders, current and future health researchers, and providers about CBPR in general and minority health promotion-focused CBPR in particular, and the important partnership roles CHWs do and can play in the latter research; (2) highlight the research training, information, and policies necessary for CHWs to be equal partners in CBPR to promote minority health; (3) identify ways that CHWs and community members and stakeholders, health researchers, and providers can work as partners to develop, implement, and evaluate culturally sensitive interventions to promote minority health; and (4) provide the opportunity for 8 CHWs and 6 doctoral students, advanced medical students, or junior faculty to participate in a CBPR Fellows Mentoring Program to Promote Minority Health. Conference outcomes include (1) the aforementioned Mentoring Program; (2) a video featuring the conference presentations that will be used by Florida CHWs to help them obtain certification credits and disseminated nationally for use in training CHWs and others to conduct culturally sensitive CBPR to promote minority health; and (3) invited articles from some conference participants on CHW-partnered, minority health promotion- focused CBPR for publication in the planned Community Health Worker Research and Practice Journal.
Minority health promotion is a high priority in Florida given health data evidencing that minorities in this state are disproportionately burdened by health disparities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) with community health workers (CHWs) as equal researcher partners is well-suited for developing culturally sensitive interventions to promote minority health. The proposed conference titled The People?s Scientific Conference to Promote Minority Health through CBPR: CHWs Lead the Way is an initiative to promote such research through multi-level academic, CHW, and community-member teaching and learning activities and implementation of a mentoring program for training CHWs, doctoral students, advanced medical students, and junior faculty to conduct minority health promotion-focused CBPR.
