Community Engagement Core

Summary/Abstract The Community Engagement Core (CEC) is an integral component of the Research and Engagement on Adaptation for Climate and Health (REACH) initiative, a project of the University of Washington’s Center for Health and Global Environment. The CEC aims to address a recognized regional need for concerted action to protect health through the development of new lines of engagement around adaptation-oriented research with UW School of Medicine and its partners in the WWAMI region. The CEC seeks to increase climate and health literacy through partnership building, needs assessment, research translation and dissemination, and capacity building. In collaboration with Center leadership, and supported by preliminary community engagement activities, the CEC has identified 3 focus areas to increase climate and health resilience. The CEC specifically aims to: (1) Develop new partnerships and identify and prioritize key climate change & health-related adaptation and implementation needs; (2) Support research translation and dissemination of REACH work; and (3) Build community engagement capacity through methodological and training support of our Center cores’ activities. Specific activities include the following: The convening an extreme heat stakeholder symposium across the 5 participating WWAMI states; The establishment of a Community Advisory Board to help prioritize and guide future CEC REACH activities; the research translation and dissemination of Center work, including creating user-based stories for REACH’s CHaRT tool; and the development of broader and deeper community engagement among the project partners and the communities they serve. The CEC acts as a methodological and translational resource for all the associated cores. It supports both the research and implementation and evaluation projects’ community engagement and science communication activities, while building internal capacity to reach beyond existing partners. It is anticipated to broadly result in improved adaptation and response to extreme heat events for WWAMI communities; increased climate-health risk literacy among physician communities; and new partnerships throughout the WWAMI network.