The Center for American Indian and Rural Health Equity (CAIRHE) achieves its research mission through multidisciplinary community-based participatory research (CBPR) that is considerate of and consistent with communities' cultural beliefs. Community involvement in every phase of the research, from design to dissemination, results in the most effective inquiry and intervention because the greatest knowledge of the health disparities plaguing our frontier region resides in the communities themselves. Since its inception, the Center has relied upon strong community engagement to build effective community-investigator partnerships across Montana, including seven American Indian reservations and many isolated rural areas, and to train investigators in best practices of CBPR. CAIRHE has developed a growing network of communities, health care providers, public health agencies, and other stakeholders working together to improve health outcomes for Montana's most at-risk populations. During COBRE Phase I, CAIRHE and two other Institutional Development Award (IDeA) programs at MSU, Montana INBRE and the American Indian/Alaska Native Clinical and Translational Research Program (CTRP), formed the innovative Montana IDeA Community Engagement Core (CEC). Through shared resources and cross-program collaboration, the CEC eliminates redundancy among the three IDeA programs, and it enables cost efficiencies and more conscientious stewardship of taxpayer resources. Most importantly, an effective Core is an indispensable part of the Center's overarching aim to be the state and regional leader in multidisciplinary, community-based health equity research, thereby improving the health of rural and Native communities across the Rocky Mountain West. Continuing throughout Phase II, CAIRHE will contribute to the success of this Core through its support of Community Research Associates, development of Community Advisory Boards, funding of faculty training and mentoring, and maintenance and management of the Core's Community Engagement and Research Mobile Lab. Specifically, the Core will continue to build multisector community-investigator partnerships across the state. It will increase community capacity for CBPR partnerships and health equity research through community facilitation and training. The Core also will increase understanding of CBPR, community needs, and historic trauma through investigator training in areas of expertise shared by its staff of Community Research Associates. The Core's use of the Mobile Lab will increase research partnerships and understanding in remote communities in one of the most rural states in America. And the Core will increase CAIRHE's impact statewide and across the country through research dissemination. With the full cooperation of the Center's community and stakeholder partners, the Core will help CAIRHE share its successful research outcomes and interventions so they can be replicated in other communities facing similar health equity challenges.
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