Community Engagement and Training Core

University Of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg MS

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section Mississippi is among the most medically underserved states in the nation and consistently ranks among those with the poorest health outcomes. In states like Mississippi, the research workforce is limited by access to mentorship and training opportunities needed to conduct health research across communities where poor outcomes exist. The Community Engagement and Training Core (CETC) will leverage previously built community infrastructure to engage faculty, students, and the public in community-based participatory research (CBPR). It will enable collection of complex community data to answer critical biomedical and behavioral questions that will lead to actionable information that will translate discovery to practice through intervention research, clinical trials, and health innovations. The long-term goal is to improve the health of Mississippians by promoting workforce development of scientists and health professionals in the area of public health. The CETC will foster transparent and constructive research partnerships between academics and communities across Mississippi, increase the representation of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) serving Mississippi populations, and strengthen collaboration with city and state entities in the research enterprise. The CETC will achieve these long term goals through the following specific aims: 1) Support pilot projects in CBPR by engaging CBOs with an emphasis on preventable conditions that contribute to chronic and infectious diseases throughout Mississippi; 2) Enhance biomedical and behavioral research projects at Primarily Undergraduate Institutes (PUIs) and among other academic researchers by leveraging CETC infrastructure and community engagement initiatives to strengthen communication between scientists and the general public; 3) Develop the next generation of scientists and practitioners through an intensive summer research program that emphasizes integrated CBPR approaches to implementing science in service of addressing health needs of all Mississippians. At the completion of the next award period, the CETC will have greatly increased the number of students, faculty and organizations involved in CBPR, furthering Mississippi’s biomedical and behavioral research infrastructure to improve the health of all Mississippi communities.