Community Engagement Core

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT – Component: Community Engagement Core (CEC) The Community Engagement Core (CEC) in the Southwest Center for Outreach and Resilience in Climate and Health (SCORCH) will play an integral part in developing and maintaining trusted relationships with communities and decision-makers to meet the Center’s mission to improve health equity across the lifespan. The CEC will oversee the Research-Solution-Action pipeline integral to SCORCH’s mission. The core will contain a Community Advisory Board (CAB) to engage non-academic, community, and practice partners external to the University of Arizona (UArizona). The CAB will ensure research and capacity-building activities are community-driven and designed to address community needs. The vision of the CEC is to emphasize an equitable process of community engagement to inform pilot projects, and translation of information to better understand the landscape of community needs and actions through their own words. The CEC will apply this vision through the following three Aims: 1) utilize equitable engagement strategies including a CAB to ensure SCORCH activities align with community concerns and inform translation and dissemination of findings; 2) conduct a needs assessment to identify climate and health concerns, gaps, and opportunities; and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of CEC key activities using the NIEHS’ Partnerships for Environmental Public Health Evaluation Metrics.