The Community Outreach/Engagement of the proposed P20 Center of Excellence will build on and expandthe existing community based activities of the NCMHD funded R24 Center of Excellence. As requested inthe RFA, the Core is structured around specific questions. For each question, the Core has a specific aimand a pilot program.
Specific aims of the Core include: (1) to stimulate and nurture efforts by communitybased organizations (CBOs) to design, implement and evaluate evidence based and culturally appropriateintervention programs that address the Latino health disparities in HIV/AIDS and substance abuse in Miami-Dade County [Question: How can we enhance the capacity of the CBOs to design, implement and evaluateevidence based and culturally relevant HIV/AIDS and substance abuse prevention and treatmentprograms?]; (2) to improve access to prevention and treatment programs for HIV/AIDS and substance abusefor Latinos in Miami-Dade County by engaging community leadership [Question: Are community healthcoaches effective in linking substance abusers and HIV infected/uninfected individuals within the Latinocommunity to prevention and treatment services?]; and (3) to involve young Latino adults in health promotionand education outreach models for preventing HIV/AIDS and substance abuse [Question: How can youngLatino adults (i.e., college students) engage in educating their peers on HIV/AIDS and substance abuse?]. Inorder to address these questions, the Core will conduct three pilot programs to create a network of CBOsinterested in enhancing their programs through evidence-based practices, to link people to services througha Comadres/Compadres (Godmother/ Godfather in Spanish) model, and to educate Latino college studentsat Florida International University. The Core relies on the Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)conceptual framework. Relevance to Public Health: The Core will stimulate the transfer of culturallyrelevant and evidence-based HIV and substance abuse prevention interventions (both primary andsecondary) among Latinos. These interventions are much needed in Miami Dade County, as the County islocated had the highest reported AIDS annual rate among all metropolitan areas in the U.S. in 2004 and isheavily impacted by the substance abuse epidemic.
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