NIH Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL)

A community-centered approach to research ensures that community voices are heard. 👂 Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine’s MH-CIP coalition works towards preventing diabetes among women diagnosed with a high blood sugar disorder that developed during pregnancy or who have obesity. At the heart of the coalition’s work lies a vital component of the project, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), who: 🔄 provides feedback in every phase of the project 🔎 highlights barriers to care and 🩺 centers the patient’s perspective This kind of community involvement in research enriches the perspectives brought to the table and ensures the community’s needs are met.

How can we make sure community is involved in all stages of the research process? Dr. Byiringiro, a researcher from the CEAL DMV Regional Team, spoke with us about how his team works with a Community Research Council comprised of community members to seek feedback on research activities, including: 🧪 the design of the project 📢 the recruitment of participants and 📰 the review of all community-facing materials #CommunityEngagedResearch #CEnR #CEAL

How did the California CEAL Regional Team work with the community to address critical mental health needs? Step 1️⃣: Establish a community advisory board of community organizations and dedicated community health workers/promotores (CHW/Ps). Step 2️⃣: With their guidance, launch a workshop series to educate and give CHW/Ps the tools to support their community's mental health needs. Step 3️⃣: CHW/Ps adapt the workshops to the context and language of local communities across the state, reaching over 600 CHW/Ps. Step 4️⃣: Continue expanding the workshop series to reflect community needs and plan to include future topics like health promotion for older adults Learn more about CEAL Regional Teams' work with communities and individuals hardest hit by critical health disparities: https://bit.ly/3DBWyIT #CEAL #CommunityHealthWorkers #MentalHealth

CEAL has tapped into the power of community health workers (CHWs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) since its inception by partnering with them to build trust in science and improve health knowledge. Now, CEAL has launched a CEAL CBO Community of Practice (CoP) aiming to strengthen partnerships among CEAL CBOs, their community-engaged research counterparts, and CEAL itself. CHWs Adlaide Holloway and Donald Young are taking the lead as Co-Chairs of CEAL’s CBO CoP 👏

An MH-CIP research team led by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tested strategies for using a community-informed patient safety bundle for severe hypertension (HTN) during pregnancy in the outpatient setting. Before the intervention, clinical teams scored an average of 78% on recognizing and responding to severe HTN. After training, scores jumped to an impressive 95%. Significant improvements were also seen in the identification of the need to treat severe HTN, provision of timely treatment, and escalation to a higher level of care. This study highlights that training, coaching, and simulation can be effective tools for improving how outpatient teams recognize and respond to severe HTN during pregnancy, ensuring safer pregnancies and healthier futures. #MaternalHealth #Hypertension

Healthy People 2030 sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade. Researchers and public health professionals, you can now view the streamlined objectives focused on pressing public health issues and easily identify the goals that are relevant to your work. Explore all of the Healthy People 2030 objectives: https://bit.ly/4ij3glz

Introducing Dr. Gniesha Dinwiddie, CEAL's new Scientific Program Director 👏 With extensive experience in social epidemiology, cardiovascular disease, and community-engaged research, Dr. Dinwiddie has led initiatives to improve health care access and quality for communities. Her expertise will be invaluable in advancing CEAL's mission to foster community partnerships and build trust in science. Help us welcome Dr. Dinwiddie in the comments🎉 #CommunityEngagement

Real-time message testing is critical during public health emergencies when information develops rapidly. Philly CEAL researchers studied how wiki surveys can be used to test researcher-generated messages and messages written by survey participants. Learn more about why wiki surveys offer the flexibility needed during a public health emergency. ↓

Researchers from The George Washington University studied how health information can be tailored and shared with the community via social media. They found that illustrations and audio narration can help deliver important health information to people with different educational backgrounds and literacy levels.

Share your community-engaged research at American Public Health Association (APHA)'s 2025 Annual Meeting and Expo 📢 APHA's Call for Abstracts for oral and poster presentations is now open for submissions that fit their meeting theme, Making the Public's Health a National Priority. Don't miss out on this chance to share your insights, innovations, and research. Submission Deadline: March 28, 2025 #APHA2025 #PublicHealth #CommunityEngagedResearch