The Community Engagement Core will leverage the following existing community engagement resources in CEHD-affiliated programs: ? GU Lombardi Cancer Center Health Disparities Initiative (1) advocates for policies to reduce minority health disparities;(2) meets with grassroots organizations to understand the needs and concerns of the local community;(3) partners with community organizations in a variety of activities, such as health fairs and community events;and (4) conducts community-based research in partnership with local community-based organizations (CBOs). ? HU Cancer Center Community Outreach for Research Excellence Program (1) partners with culturally and linguistically diverse communities to provide cancer health education and promote referral to the center's free cancer screening programs;(2) works with local CBOs to support community organized health fairs, programs, and events;and (3) engages communities of faith in research. ? GU Center for Trauma and the Community and Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland, (1) identifies research questions that are important to the community;(2) addresses barriers to participation in research;and (3) works closely with grassroots organizations to gain community buy in for research efforts. ? CTSA Community Engagement and Research Component (1) addresses literacy and language barriers to research participation, (2) links academic investigators with similar interests, and (3) promotes partnerships between academic investigators and CBOs. ? Stroke Disparities Program Community Advisory Committee (1) brings together stroke survivors, caregivers, and community champions to build community partnerships that enhance education and research participation;(2) advises the research team on cultural sensitivity and outreach and recruitment strategies;and (3) reviews educational materials and research consent documents. All of the listed community engagement resources have objectives related to reduction of health disparities. Each existing community engagement resource works in partnership with local CBOs to provide direct outreach to individuals, families, neighborhoods, and community groups. Through long-standing partnerships with CBOs, local residents are engaged around issues related to research participation, local health concerns, and disseminating research findings. These existing relationships provide a foundation for bi-directional partnerships with community research partners. Rather than recreate these functions within the CEHD, the CEC will enhance the efficiency of existing community engagement activities by providing a coordinating function that surveys information and supports networking among AHCs and CBOs. Each community engagement resource listed above also works closely with its own community advisory board (CAB). The CEC will leverage the strengths of the existing CABs. Rather than create a new community advisory group, the CEHD will ask each existing CAB to designate a member to serve as a liaison to the CEHD Community Advisory Committee (CAC). (See Administrative Core section for description of CAC.) To build synergy between existing advisory groups, the CEHD will serve as an integrating mechanism to assure information sharing among the advisory boards. In addition to having a liaison to relate information from the CAC to his/her respective CAB, a comprehensive summary of activity within the CEHD and affiliated programs will be delivered to each CAB twice per year. This will allow each board the understand the broader context of the work being conducted by the group they advise. CAB responses to these reports will be communicated to CEHD Pis and core leaders for action, as needed. This method will allow an iterative process by which input from diverse representatives of the community can be continually reflected in the activities and approaches of the CEHD. Timing of input from the CABs will be synchronized so that, if CABs have similar recommendations, the resulting CEHD response will reflect all recommendations received.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 17 publications
