um community engagement program

MICHR Community Engagement Program

UM Community Engagement Program

Carolyn Sampselle, DirectorKaren Calhoun, Community Research Associate

Objectives

• Discuss placement of CE within overall MICHR organization

• Describe structure and resources for development and conduct of community engaged research

• Describe the role of the Community Research Associate in MICHR

• Discuss challenges of the CRA role


Where does Community Engagement fit in?

MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage

MICHR Outreach Partnerships & Implementation Science Program

Addressing Health Disparities

Addressing health disparities

Community Engagement (CE)Program

Community-University

Partnerships

CBOs and Focal Communities Participating in CE Coordinating Council

– American Indian Family & Health Service (Detroit)– Community Health and Social Services Center (Detroit) – City Connect (Detroit)– Friends of Parkside (Detroit)– Faith Access to Community Economic Development (Flint)– Genessee County Neighborhood Round Table (Flint)– Genessee County Community Action Resource Dept. (Flint)– Warren Conner Resource Development Coalition(Flint)– Odyssey House (Flint)– Ann Arbor District Library (A2/Ypsi) --Center for Independent Living– Corner Health Center (A2/Ypsi) --Hope Clinic (A2/Ypsi)– Washtenaw County Health Department (A2/Ypsi)– Ypsilanti Health Coalition (A2/Ypsi) --YMCA (A2/Ypsi)


Establishing Community Research Partnerships

• Dedicated pilot project funds for three projects/year of up to $25K– Follow Partners in Research Model– RFA two times/year– Scientific Review Committee Scores CE pilots– CECC makes final funding decision

• CE faculty and staff assist with project development

• CE staff facilitate IRB process

• CE faculty and staff assist with resource identification/project implementation


Major initiatives

Create growth opportunities for all partners (e.g. training experiences, career opportunities)

1) Working with partners and Health Disparities program to integrate CE and HD coursework into overall MICHR Ed Program curriculum.

2) In collaboration with Prevention Research Center faculty/community to develop 3 modules that cover community research best practices, as well as developing policy from research. (NIH funded)

3) Develop Health Research Forums in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library to increase health research literacy. (NIH funded)

4) Developed the first “Research into Policy” workshop with our community partners.5) Developed IRB training for community/researchers who want to partner with

communities in research, entitled: Ethical Protections in Community-Engaged Research

6) Hired three CRAs to provide ongoing links to communities.

MICHR CRAs and CR Nurse


Karen Calhoun Marie Watkins

Fran TalsmaLee Bell

CRA Job Description

• Qualifications• Bachelor’s degree in health, social science or related field• Proficiency in community-based research protocols with involvement in

Detroit, Flint, or Ypsilanti communities• Interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work in teams

• Responsibilities• Engage in one on one meetings with community groups & leaders to

decrease barriers that separate the scientific community from the public• Provide direct connection with the community • Work with CR liaison to ensure that investigators address key community

issues


Community Research Associates Regionally located to ensure connection to community relevance Organize and participate in meetings with community leaders and social service

agency personnel. Offer insight about and solutions for the barriers for community/researcher

partnerships. Provide a direct connection to the community, and help ensure that the

investigators have an understanding of the community that will be involved with the research study, and maintains a strong working relationship with community members/community based organization throughout the research project.

Assist in incorporating community and cultural perspectives as studies are being written and prior to IRB approval; and interface with the community via public presentations, and on-going community activities

Build relationships with community leaders and stakeholders Glean research ideas Maintain contact information Offer opportunities to participate in research


Community Member – Letitia Byrd“Researchers have got to learn that they are dealing with human beings NOT

‘subjects’ if they expect to do good research”; “As a Black woman when I hear NIH I want to run in the other direction!”

Community Conversation in Detroit•Supported by grant from Michigan State Health Department•Similar conversations conducted in Flint and A2/Ypsilanti


Comparison of CRA role in three focal communities

• All driven by community leadership

• Variances between community based leadership – Agencies CRAs housed within– Stakeholder leadership structures

• Different skill sets

• Common community priorities– Reduce health disparities and improve health status of the community– Advance best practices to empower communities and researchers


Community Health


We elected to emphasize the 3 focal communities of A2/Ypsilanti, Detroit, & Flint—all with large elements at risk for health disparities.

The GRIN network could provide model for expanded outreach.

Challenges CRAs face

• Building community trust

• Research is labor intensive, time consuming

• Recruiting faculty and CBOs

• Opportunities—issue/funder/relationship driven

• Need for greater proportion of CRA effort

• Sustainability and Dissemination


Partners in Research NIH R03 Grants

• Engaging the Community in Clinical Research: Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti– Dorene Markel, UM/Ann Arbor District Library– Flint CRA active recruitment of Flint participants

• Medical Marvels Interactive Translational Research: Detroit– Mike Fetterers, UM/Detroit Science Center

• Partners in Research: Engagement for Action– Marc Zimmerman, UM/YOUR Center, Flint– Flint CRA led windshield tours of Flint


Community Education Meeting on Obesity• Offered through the PIR grant to Ann Arbor District Library• Guest was graduate of ‘Biggest Loser’ program• Attended by residents of Detroit, Flint, as well as A2/Ypsilanti


CE Program Challenges

• How best to allocate dedicated Community Engagement pilot funds– Should we maintain a broad focus, funding the most promising science?– Should we narrow the priority to one or two entities (childhood obesity

and safer sex practices have been mentioned most frequently) and exclude topics that deal with other issues such as developing an outreach program for individuals with chronic kidney disease?

– Should we aim to balance funding among our three focal communities or simply fund the most promising science, even if it favors a single community?

More Challenges

• Identify tangible/measurable goals—recognized by both NIH and UM

• Research Awareness/Recruitment

• Integration of Health Disparities and Clinical Translation—MICHR is disjointed by national standards

• Disseminating research study status/results/outcomes/impact

• Never enough time!


New directions via RC4 Infrastructure funding:

• Enhance capacity of our community partners to engage in, contribute to, and direct community-based research activities in a more empowered and independent fashion

• Accelerate the development and productivity of academic/community collaborations reducing time required to initiate and complete community based research

• Utilize CBPR principles to develop and refine stages of the research process for engaging partners and ultimately for widespread outcome dissemination


Planned whether or not RC4 is funded

• Regional replication of MICHR CE best practices

• Joint training module development to facilitate co-learning

• Database/networking portal of community member research expertise, CBO health/research knowledge, and researchers interested in community engaged research

• Implement IRB certification for community partners and researchers

• Evaluate and synthesize best practices for dissemination


um community engagement program

Documents

community partners

health research literacy

community campus partnerships

michr cras

research modelrfa

health disparities program

health ccphce structure

overall michr organization