The community university partnership between Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard School of Public Health, the Committee for Boston Public Housing and residents of the Franklin Hill public housing development contains numerous lessons. From the university researcher perspective the most salient was that despite a long history of community-based work and good relationships with other communities, entering into a new partnership here entailed proving trustworthiness over again. Some of the things that the university partner did to help with the relationship, included equitable sharing of funding, responsiveness to community suggestions for the proposal, respecting community members as equals, and contributing time pro bono on top of the funded work that we were doing together. The residents appreciated the opportunity to learn more about asthma. The main concern that they had was that it was, at times, difficult to understand the scientific language used. That the university partners broke down the language helped. All in all, resident participants concluded that the project was mutually beneficial.
Learning Objectives: N/A
Keywords: Asthma, Housing
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.