Creating Community Connections: Students leading practice-based research through a community assessment of three New Orleans neighborhoods

As residents of New Orleans worked to rebuild their neighborhoods post-Katrina, students at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine worked to connect with the local communities through practice-based teaching and research. Developed by the Mary Amelia Douglas-Whited Community Women's Health Education Center, the Creating Community Connections environmental scan project aimed to create a comprehensive view of community assets and needs that would be used to develop a strategic plan to promote health through community-based work and partnerships. Student researchers working with the project had the opportunity to contribute to the development and implementation of each stage of the environmental scan while developing professional and leadership skills and experience.

Implementing the scan occurred in several phases; data mining, surveying, conducting key informant interviews and focus groups, analyzing data, and finally, providing feedback to the neighborhoods through community forums. For each phase of the project students researched various methods and techniques then trained the rest of the student team to utilize the chosen research methods. Throughout the project, students encountered milestones and setbacks ranging from developing community partnerships to struggling to engage community members. In the process, students developed a deeper understanding of the issues and needs of the communities as well as a connection to the local culture. This project not only empowered community members to join together and advocate for change, but it allowed students to develop new skills and create new partnerships in hopes of implementing health education programs in the future.