Partners in Research: Engagement for Action

Project Details

• Principal Investigators:
  Marc Zimmerman, PhD, UM-SPH
  Bettina Cambell, YOUR Center
• Project Contact: Susan Morrel-Samuels, MA, MPH, UM-SPH (sumosa@umich.edu)
• Project Dates: 2008-2010
• Funding Source: National Institutes of Health

Description

Partners in Research (PIR) is a collaborative training program designed to prepare community organizations and academic researchers to work together to improve community health.

PIR training includes three components:

• Community Engagement: This module will begin with a discussion of key health issues and health disparities that affect communities.  It will introduce participants to the history of health research, how research is conducted, how to assess the risks and benefits of participating in research, safeguards for research participants, and how the results of research can be used to improve community health. The second part of this training will provide community partners with knowledge and skills for developing effective and equitable research partnerships.

• Researcher Engagement: This component will prepare researchers to work with community organizations to conduct collaborative projects.  Researchers will learn about the benefits and challenges of partnering with communities, the principles of community-based research, and how to communicate scientific concepts to diverse audiences.  Researchers will learn about the community context through a tour and discussion led by local leaders.  Community organizations and researchers will discuss possible research projects of mutual interest.

• Policy Engagement: This module will bring researchers and community partners together to learn about the policy process and how to combine scientific evidence with community experience to inform policy makers.

Presentations