Community Engagement Core

PROJECT SUMMARY Health disparities in the burden of multiple chronic conditions for low-income and racial and ethnic minority groups are pervasive and have their roots in social determinants of health and unequal access to evidence- based health care services during critical periods of life. The Chicago region suffers from severe chronic condition disparities for its African American and Latinx populations that can be mapped to specific geographies due to the long history of racial segregation that has contributed to inequities in neighborhood conditions, income, and access to high quality health resources and healthcare. Addressing disparities in multiple chronic conditions in the Chicago region will require engaging diverse stakeholders committed to overcoming gaps in the healthcare system, gaps in the traditional approach to delivering preventive and management services, and gaps generated by a reductionist approach to science. We propose taking a holistic approach to health disparities research that includes health care delivery systems, community health centers, public health agencies and community-based organizations. The Community Engagement Core of the Chicago Chronic Condition Equity Network (C3EN) aims to address these gaps by developing partnerships between authentic community voices and researchers to co-design research interventions in the multi- county Chicago region. We will engage multiple systems of clinical and social care that typically work in silos, to collectively address research gaps in order to promote health equity for the African American and Latinx populations in the Chicago region. In addition, these diverse stakeholders will facilitate the dissemination of the findings of these research interventions to their constituents.