National Institute of General Medical Sciences 5P50GM133807-07

Community Engagement and Outreach Core

This award funds the Community Engagement and Outreach Core at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences to enhance clinical and translational research by aligning it with community health needs in Puerto Rico, fostering collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and local stakeholders.

Description

The Community Engagement and Outreach (CEO) Core aims to enhance clinical and translational research by aligning research efforts with the population’s health needs and priorities. Over the past four years, CEO Core has effectively bridged the Alliance IDeA CTR-N and local groups, ensuring that research initiatives incorporate the people’s perspectives and healthcare needs. This strategy has enhanced our understanding of health challenges, yielding actionable research outcomes. The inaugural Community Health and Research Council (CHRC) engaged over 200 participants from 55 municipalities in PR, identifying 19 health needs—70% of which were addressed. Notably, the creation of Puerto Rico’s first Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN/GROW-PR) connected over 120 collaborators, facilitating the development of partnerships between researchers from the academia, clinicians, and local partners. The long-term goal of the CEO is to build research capacity through tailored programs, connecting early-career professionals with experienced researchers, and supporting the integration of healthcare providers and local stakeholders in the research process to achieve population-driven, meaningful, and impactful collaborative research innovations. The approach has three specific aims: 1) strengthen community engagement and support research strategies; 2) enhance PBRN infrastructure and collaboration; 3) improve dissemination and stakeholder engagement.

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