Delaware Clinical and Translational Research ACCEL Program (CEO Core)

ABSTRACT – COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH CORE Engaging patients and communities in clinical and translational research improves the impact of research because local communities are able to deftly identify the key questions and outcomes that matter most to patients and communities. Such an approach requires strong partnerships across a spectrum of community stakeholders, where there is clear recognition that the relationship between researcher and community stakeholder must be reciprocal, mutually beneficial and cooperative. We use the term “community” broadly to include any and all “end users” of research. This includes patients, families, neighborhoods, and other physically-defined communities within Delaware, but it also includes other communities such as healthcare providers, health system leaders and administrators, public health agents, condition-specific advocacy groups, payers, and policy makers--all of whom may benefit from our research. Community engaged research (CEnR) is a collaborative process between the researcher and community partners with the goal of developing knowledge and strengthening the well-being of communities. The significance and impact of research depends not only on the quality of the research conducted, but also on the degree and timeliness of translating findings into clinical, public health, and population health practices. Developing approaches to incorporating the input and collaboration of end user communities early in the research process through community engagement and outreach is perhaps the most impactful activity we can do to significantly reduce the research to practice time gap and improve the health of all Delawareans. The ACCEL CTR Community Engagement & Outreach (CEO) Core will make research more significant, impactful, and responsive by enhancing and expanding the community engagement work of our earlier funding cycles through the accomplishment of the following four specific aims: Aim 1: Assist Delawarean researchers working across the translational spectrum (T0-T4) with identifying approaches to including community perspectives in their work; Aim 2: Include community voice in all ACCEL CTR activities; Aim 3: Provide expertise on developing cultural respect and use of research designs that will increase the generalizability of research across the network, emphasizing the social and structural influences on health (S/SIH); Aim 4: Develop a Practice & Community-Based Research Network (PCBRN).