The community engagement efforts of the M-CHE reflect our commitment to develop and sustain active community participation in research and the intersectional action taken by community members outside of the traditional medical care arena as one means to address the structural determinants of health (e.g., poverty, institutional factors, policy factors).
Constituting one of four Core areas of focus in our Center of Excellence, our Community Engagement and Outreach Core emphasizes the development of relationships between the M-CHE and communities in Maryland, particularly those whose residents experience racial and ethnic health disparities
The following specific aims guide this Core:
Specific Aim 1: Establish the new Maryland Community Research Advisory Board (MD-CRAB) charged to increase awareness of and participation by African American and Latino populations in biomedical and public health research, including clinical trials.
Specific Aim 2: Develop a Health Equity curricular unit for integration into the existing curriculum of the Maryland Legacy Leadership Institute on Public Policy.
Specific Aim 3: Partner with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to co-sponsor skills building workshops that prepare individuals to use the Equity Focused Health Impact Assessment Framework (EFHIA) as a systematic means to ensure the inclusion of structural determinants of health in any assessment of progress toward achieving health equity.
Specific Aim 4: Produce and disseminate scientifically sound and culturally tailored health education materials based upon the research findings emerging from our Center of Excellence (COE).