The scientific theme of the Emory HERCULES PSO (Health and Exposome Research Center: Understanding Lifetime Exposures) is to use exposome-related concepts and approaches to improve human health. Community engagement in the emerging exposome framework will be key to the effective translation of exposome discoveries into improved human health. The novelty of the exposome concept provides an excellent opportunity for community input at an early stage of the work. It also ensures that community perspectives are integrated into the exposome concepts as they evolve. The Community Outreach and Engagement Core (COEC) will build upon existing partnerships to promote dialogue among local communities, HERCULES scientists, and health-care providers. The COEC will provide the needed mechanisms to ensure that community voices inform the HERCULES scientists of local environmental health concerns, with a particular emphasis on neighborhoods disproportionately affected by environmental exposures. In turn, exposome concepts and research findings will be discussed with local communities and health-care providers in a format that is both relevant and accessible. The COEC will enhance community capacity to address local environmental health issues through consultation services and mini-grant programs. Importantly, the COEC will support HERCULES scientists and trainees as they engage community partners in exposome-based research. An evaluation plan will be implemented for continuous quality improvement of COEC approaches and its activities.
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