Faculty Collaboration Database

Aligning the goals of community-engaged research: why and how academic health centers can successfully engage with communities to improve health. Acad Med 2012 Mar;87(3):285-91

Date

03/01/2012

Pubmed ID

22373619

Pubmed Central ID

PMC3292771

DOI

10.1097/ACM.0b013e3182441680

Abstract

Community engagement (CE) and community-engaged research (CEnR) are increasingly viewed as the keystone to translational medicine and improving the health of the nation. In this article, the authors seek to assist academic health centers (AHCs) in learning how to better engage with their communities and build a CEnR agenda by suggesting five steps: defining community and identifying partners, learning the etiquette of CE, building a sustainable network of CEnR researchers, recognizing that CEnR will require the development of new methodologies, and improving translation and dissemination plans. Health disparities that lead to uneven access to and quality of care as well as high costs will persist without a CEnR agenda that finds answers to both medical and public health questions. One of the biggest barriers toward a national CEnR agenda, however, are the historical structures and processes of an AHC-including the complexities of how institutional review boards operate, accounting practices and indirect funding policies, and tenure and promotion paths. Changing institutional culture starts with the leadership and commitment of top decision makers in an institution. By aligning the motivations and goals of their researchers, clinicians, and community members into a vision of a healthier population, AHC leadership will not just improve their own institutions but also improve the health of the nation-starting with improving the health of their local communities, one community at a time.

Author List

Michener L, Cook J, Ahmed SM, Yonas MA, Coyne-Beasley T, Aguilar-Gaxiola S

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Academic Medical Centers
Community Medicine
Community Networks
Community-Institutional Relations
Cooperative Behavior
Ethics Committees, Research
Guideline Adherence
Health Promotion
Health Status Disparities
Healthcare Disparities
Humans
Interdisciplinary Communication
Leadership
Organizational Objectives
United States