141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

285698
Lost in translation: The role of community research associates in community based participatory research in rural WV

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Sara Hanks, HSTA Curriculum Coordinator , Health Sciences and Technology Academy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Robert Branch, MD , Center for Clinical Pharmacology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Ann Chester, PhD , Health Sciences and Technology Academy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Summer Kuhn, MPH , Health Sciences and Technology Academy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Merge McMillion, MS , Health Sciences and Technology Academy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Cathy Morton-McSwain, MS , Health Sciences and Technology Academy, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
In a state where much of the population has limited access to health care and there is very little exchange of information between medical researchers and the community, there is a need for community based “translation experts” that speak both the language of an academician and a layperson. In 2010, the Community Appalachian Investigation Research Network in partnership with the Health Sciences & Technology Academy (HSTA) initiated the concept of Community Research Associates (CRAs) to bridge the divide between researchers and under-served communities. HSTA is an afterschool, science enrichment program for students with potential and interest in science careers and who come from financially disadvantaged, first generation to college or minority backgrounds. These CRAs have spent the last 2 years facilitating clinical translational investigators, 80 HSTA teachers and 800 HSTA 9th-12th grade students in authentic research projects and translating the results of that research and medical knowledge into the most rural and underserved communities of WV. These former educators have received training on community health issues as well as community engagement, and they live in the communities they serve. Since the development of the CRA concept, student-community interaction with research scientists has increased as has the number of health related, HSTA student-led research projects. Through the CRA concept, communities are able to better understand their health issues and are now more likely to take action. In this session the development and evolution of the CRA concept will be presented along with longitudinal impact data.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the development and evolution of the concept of Community Research Associates in Rural WV. Identify the impact of Community Research Associates on translation of health issues in WV communities.

Keywords: Community-Based Public Health, Community Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Curriculum Coordinator and Community Research Associate for the Health Sciences and Technology Academy. In this role I work to translate medical research and clinical findings to teachers and high school students in the 26 counties served by this program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.