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Community Research Associate: Essential Component of Community Engaged Research . Karen Calhoun, CRA Carolyn Sampselle, Director. Addressing Health Disparities. Addressing health disparities. Community Engagement Program Aims.
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Community Research Associate:Essential Component of Community Engaged Research Karen Calhoun, CRA Carolyn Sampselle, Director MICHR Community Engagement Program
Addressing Health Disparities Addressing health disparities MICHR OPIS Program
Community Engagement Program Aims • Promote bidirectional knowledge flow and co-learning between the public and the investigator • Enhance infrastructure and tools for academic/community research partnerships based on empowering and power sharing process • Create innovative methods for community engaged research • Provide regional and national leadership that addresses the ‘unfinished business’ community engaged research MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Community Engagement Program Effort • CE Coordinating Council • 14 Community Based Organization Representatives • 5 UM Health System Programs and Offices • 5 Faculty representing Medicine, Nursing, & Public Health • CE Program Staff • Manager • Clinical Research Liaison • Clinical Research Associates • Three housed in CBOs in Detroit, Flint, and A2/Ypsilanti • CR Nurse housed in the Michigan Clinical Research Unit MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
MICHR CRAs and CR Nurse Marie Watkins Karen Calhoun Lee Bell Fran Talsma MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Community Health Current CRAs in Detroit, Flint, and A2/Ypsilanti CR Nurse is housed in Michigan CR Unit (MCRU)—potential outreach across state The GRIN network could provide framework for CRA expansion MICHR Community Engagement Program
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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
Community Research Associate Role • NIH Definition of CRA: Must be a community representative and serve as primary liaison facilitating communication and collaboration between AHC and the local community (RFA-OD-09-010, issued 10/09/2010) MICHR Community Engagement Program
MICHR 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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
CRA Leadership • RWJ Background • Experience in City Connect Detroit • Research, Ethics and Integrity Program (REIP) Advisory Council • Community Engaged Stakeholder Council • Associated teaching in Association for Prevention, Training, & Research (APTR) workshop MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Social Marketing and Technical Assistance MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Special Projects • St. John Health System School Based Health Clinics Longitudinal Study • Pioneering Health Communities (YMCA) • Community forums (blood spots) • Neighborhood-based urban gardening and CBO capacity building (John R Community N) • Ethical protections in Community Engaged Research IRB module MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Advance Work to Facilitate Grant Application • St. John (SBHC) Longitudinal Survey • John R. Community n Asset Survey MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Major initiatives Create growth opportunities for all partners (e.g. training experiences, career opportunities) • Working with partners and Health Disparities program to integrate CE and HD coursework into overall MICHR Ed Program curriculum • 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) • Develop Health Research Forums in partnership with the Ann Arbor District Library to increase health research literacy. (NIH funded) • Developed the first “Research into Policy” workshop with our community partners. • Developed IRB training for community/researchers who want to partner with communities in research, entitled: Ethical Protections in Community-Engaged Research
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 MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
CRA Impact on Project Development:Commitment to Stakeholder Input • Attentive to scheduling planning calls/face to face meetings • Providing summaries of discuss • Inviting and incorporating participant edits • Honoring established relationships MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Importance of CRA Relationships • Building community trust • City Connect’s cross sector collaboration • Community participatory model in all efforts • Data Driven Detroit effort • Converting initial distrust of academia into willingness to consider partnership • Developing community/university partnerships • Detroit Public Schools and St. John Hospital Systems • MDCH funded Community Conversations MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
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 MICHR Community Engagement Program
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 MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage
Questions? Karen Calhoun, CRA Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research Community Engagement Program 313-632-9932 karen@cityconnectdetroit.org Carolyn Sampselle, Director Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research Community Engagement Program 734-846-8239 csampsll@umich.edu MICHR Community Outreach Program - engage