LI Course
CE Hours: 6 contact hours

Partnership: Community Based Public Health Caucus (CBPHC) Renee Bayer email: cbphcaucus@umich.edu Community Based Organization Partners (CBOP) Kent Key email: kkey25@aol.com Community Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) Sarena Seifer email: info@ccph.info

Statement of Purpose and Institute Overview: The primary purpose of this course is to develop the knowledge and skills, as well as the peer relationships and support systems needed by community partners to reduce health disparities in their communities by participating as equal partners in Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). CBPR is an assets-based approach where communities, public health practitioners, and academicians work together to identify issues, mobilize resources, and implement solutions to improve health and promote health equity. CBPR has gained visibility and acceptance as an approach to engage minority communities in health disparities research. There have been an increasing number of conferences focused on CBPR, however typically they are tailored for academics. This course has been organized by experienced CBPR community researchers for community partners interested in knowing more about this kind of research. In spite of years of development of CBPR projects, there remain significant gaps in capacity building and support for community partners to be mutual partners in community-academic CBPR partnerships. One conclusion of a national study (Community-Campus Partnerships for Health 2007) of community partners determined, “Community involvement and capacity building is needed at the local, regional, and national levels. Supports are needed to develop community members as civic leaders, change agents, and community-based researchers.” The LI will be co-presented by nationally recognized community-academic partners. Part I will be an overview of CBPR: Enhancing capacity of community organizations to engage in equitable research partnerships. Drawing upon experiences of the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (URC), a longstanding community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership, this hands-on, interactive workshop will address: benefits and challenges for communities; dimensions of participation in research; practical strategies for establishing equitable research relationships; community rights in research; and guiding principles of community-based participatory research. Part II will begin with a panel presenting case studies: Engaging Youth in CBPR (Strengthening African American Families in Raleigh, North Carolina); Engaging Parents/Families as Co-Researchers (Communities for Healthy Living in Rensselaer County, New York); Community-Partnered Participatory Research Model (Healthy African American Families in Los Angeles, California); and Harnessing Community Expertise to Advance Equity (North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute in Chapel Hill, North Carolina). Finally, the group will breakout by topic area into roundtables facilitated by the co-presenters for in-depth Q&A, discussion, consultation, and networking.

Session Objectives: Explain the potential benefits and challenges for communities to engage in collaborative research; Describe tools and strategies for establishing equitable partnerships with academic and institutional researchers; Explain how to apply CBPR principles to community-academic partnership work in their own community settings.