Community Engagement Core

Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff AZ

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY The overall goal of the Community Engagement Core (CEC) is to cultivate and expand relationships with multi-sectoral, community-based organizations and leaders to address locally identified health concerns. Through multimodal community engagement and dissemination strategies, we will continue to foster awareness of participation in health translational research among all populations of the southwestern United States (US). CEC is guided by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Communities in Action framework.1 This asset-based framework recognizes health as a product of multiple determinants in which community-based solutions are necessary but not sufficient.2 Multi-sectoral and public-private partnerships are critical in building the necessary health research infrastructure to inform evidence-based policy and action to improve health outcomes for all Americans. CEC is composed of Northern Arizona University (NAU) faculty and staff with decades of community-engaged research, practice, and policy experience.3-11 They are actively engaged in health outcomes research with US Southwest populations. CEC researchers have developed strategies to engage research-cautious populations.9,11-14 In collaboration with the SHERC Advisory Committee and cores, CEC seeks to affect change through Accountability, Relationships, and Action aims, and engage in ongoing Reflection though planned evaluation activities. Aim 1 (Accountability). Cultivate and maintain an active Community Expert Board (CEB) of multisectoral community stakeholders to advise overall Center and core operational activities. Building from CEC’s Regional Health Survey (RHS),15 the CEB members will represent distinct stakeholder groups who will inform population health research, practice, and policy. The CEB will provide guidance to SHERC and CEC by: (1) informing the focus of and serving as reviewers for the Investigator Development Core Pilot Project Program and the CEC’s Community Campus Partnership and Development and Dissemination program; (2) strengthening sustainable community- and systems-level changes through the Fairness First Network; and (3) assisting in the identification of Community Engagement Studio expert panels.16 Aim 2 (Relationships). Establish the Fairness First Network (FFN) to facilitate community-based dissemination and strategic planning for sustainable systems-level change. To enhance a shared vision of health and strengthen university and community capacity to translate findings into action, CEC will establish the FFN, which is born from CEC’s existing Fairness First Campaign (FFC). FFN is a geographically based network of multi-sectoral stakeholders representing broad population interests of the southwestern US. FFN will convene quarterly to facilitate a chain of communication and action through: (1) community-based strategic planning through Community Health Consensus Models, (2) timely and appropriate dissemination of information generated by SHERC’s research and pilot projects, and (3) other activities for academic and lay community audiences through FFC.17 Aim 3 (Action). Build and mobilize university and community researcher partnership capacity to enhance research relevance and translation of research findings. Building on CEC’s Community-Campus Partnership Support (CCPS) program, which provides resources for university and community colleagues to build partnerships and conceptualize community-engaged research projects, CEC will use the Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation18 to enhance the translation and dissemination activities of SHERC. We will: (1) establish Community Engagement Studios (CE Studios)16 to facilitate access to community expert advice for SHERC research and pilot projects and (2) formalize a Community Campus Partnership Development and Dissemination (CCPDD) program to stimulate research partnerships and/or to mentor teams to effectively disseminate research results to inform intervention and policy. The CEC will engage participatory, multimodal strategies to enhance community engagement and dissemination of health outcomes research generated by SHERC research projects and core initiatives. Our approach will yield sustainable relationships through targeted strategic planning with small groups of community experts, large-scale coalition building among regional multi-sectoral stakeholders and preparation of researchers. Ultimately, CEC efforts will contribute strong academic and community foundations for transformational biomedical, clinical, and behavioral health research initiatives which target the environmental, economic, and social root causes of health.