Health equity lab (HEaL): Building academic capacity for CBPR to establish community-academic partnerships

Establishing partnerships that follow the principles of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) with community partners that do not have experience with this research approach and academic institutions that do not have a history of CBPR can be particularly challenging for junior tenure-track faculty. We established the HEaL at the University Of Iowa College Of Public Health, in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health, as a space to learn, discuss and increase the capacity to conduct CBPR practices from a social justice and health equity framework. HEaL was started by two Kellogg Health Scholars with interest in building the necessary capacity and formal structures within the institution to conduct community engaged research.. Three graduate students and one undergraduate student have joined HEaL and are engaged in developing mechanisms for CBPR training, support, dissemination and outreach. The lab is in the development process, but the objectives include 1) to provide training and support for CBPR academic and community partners, 2) create an identity within the university that reflects the CBPR principles and experiences learned from the Kellogg Health Scholar Program, 3) develop the capacity and formal mechanisms within the institution for conducting studies using CBPR and 4) build equitable and sustainable relationships between community and academic partners at the University of Iowa. Three communities across the state have been identified and activities are planned to gain entry in the community, identify health priorities, and establish partnerships. This presentation will describe these activities and the process of building new community-academic partnerships.