Thursday, January 19, 2017

USA Center for Healthy Communities Hosts Community-Engaged Research Forum

Dr. Lisa Vaughn, professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, speaks during the University of South Alabama Center for Healthy Communities Community-Engaged Research & Scholarship Forum on Jan. 13, 2017.
The University of South Alabama Center for Healthy Communities recently hosted a forum on community-engaged scholarship titled “Strengthening the Community-Engaged Research and Scholarship Tool Box.”

This year’s keynote presentation was given by Dr. Farrah Jacquez, associate professor of psychology and licensed clinical psychologist at the University of Cincinnati, and Dr. Lisa Vaughn, professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. They presented “The Process and Power of Community-Engaged Research; Moving from Outreach to Shared Decision-Making.”

The goal of the forum was to increase awareness of community-engaged scholarship and community-based participatory research occurring in our region. The forum also included 26 interactive research poster presentations to highlight community-engaged projects, processes and efforts.

Dr. Martha Arrieta, director of research at the USA Center for Healthy Communities and associate professor of internal medicine at the USA College of Medicine, said engaged research and scholarship is one of the most powerful strategies to address health disparities and foster health equity.

“Through the Center for Healthy Communities, the College of Medicine has established a solid base for community-engaged participatory research focused on improving the health status of marginalized communities,” Dr. Arrieta said. “The forum provided an avenue to review the progress made to-date, while also opening a space to share experiences with local, regional and national practitioners of community engagement.”

The Center for Healthy Communities is the lead entity within the University for coordinating community education, research, public service and health activities to help eliminate health disparities, foster access to health care for underserved populations and enhance the capacity of individuals to better participate in decision making about their health. Click here to learn more.