Recorded presentation

Elmer R. Freeman, MSW, Center for Community Health Education, Research and Service, Inc. (CCHERS), 716 Columbus Ave., Suite 398, Boston, MA 02120, 617-373-4591, e.freeman@neu.edu

Community health centers that serve as the locus of practice for primary care physicians, public health practitioners, and other health care providers are uniquely positioned for engagement in interdisciplinary health services and clinical research that focuses on addressing the persistent disparities in health among urban minority populations by looking at the social, economic and environmental determinants of health status. Through its network of "academic community health centers" that integrate education and research into their historic missions of service to the underserved, the Center for Community Health Education Research and Service, Inc. (CCHERS) serves as a vehicle for connecting academic researchers with community people, places and processes in its efforts to educate health care professionals, improve health services delivery and promote health systems change.

This session will describe real cases of community based public health interventions and health services research that involve partnerships between academic researchers and communities to address the range of excess morbidities and mortalities from various diseases that affect urban minority populations in the City of Boston. These cases of applied research and evaluation involve various disciplines working in teams that exemplify the interdisciplinary nature of community based participatory research. They also show that range of funders interested in the work of community health centers seeking to eliminate health disparities, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to Health Resources and Services Administration, and National Institutes of Health

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Identification of principles and practices for establishing effective community based participatory research partnerships between academic researchers and communities of color.
• 2. Understanding how qualitative research methods and data are used to enhance understanding of quantitative data and inform culturally appropriate practice and promote policy change to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.
• 3. Discussion of relevant models of health services research and public health practice for studying social, economic and environmental determinants of health for urban minority populations.

Keywords: Community Research, Health Disparities

Related Web page: www.cchers.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employed as Executive Director

Recorded presentation