Rural populations face unique health challenges, due in part to poverty, isolation and limited access to health care. Appalachian Kentucky, a largely rural population, presents an extreme version of these challenges. Kentucky is one of the unhealthiest states in this country with an overall rank of 44th in 2012. Kentucky has the highest smoking rate and the highest cancer mortality rate in the U.S., along with high rates of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, poor physical health and poor mental health, and diabetes. (United Health Foundation, America’s Health Rankings 2012).

The overall goal of the Community Engagement Program is to connect lay, practice, and academic communities as partners in community-engaged research to address priority health needs of Appalachian populations in Kentucky, contributing to improved health outcomes.

The Community Engagement Program offers a range of services to researchers interested in community-engaged research as well as to community partners seeking research assistance.

Community-Oriented Research Collaborations

• Identifying community organizations, practice-based research networks, and/or academic community-based researchers as partners
• Identifying collaborative opportunities with Appalachian Translational Research Network Institutional/Regional partners
• Overseeing requests for Community Engagement services with our clinical sites to formalize collaborations

Consultations to Guide and Facilitate Community-Oriented Research

• Incorporating community-based theories and frameworks in study designs
• Engaging community members in research plans
• Developing data collection instruments
• Collecting community-based pilot data
• Conducting focus groups and interviews
• Developing an evaluation plan
• Protecting human subjects in research
• Disseminating research findings, both academically and to the community

Training for Community-based Research

• Offering training and education opportunities to community members and academic investigators on conducting community-oriented research
• Developing strategies and content for bidirectional collaboration, pertinent training and study coordination, project management, recruitment, data collection/ management, and evaluation for specific protocols

CCTS Seed Projects

• Providing funding for CCTS Seed projects using community-based methodologies

Other Funding

• Serving as collaborators on grant applications in response to funding opportunities

Research Staff

• Providing and managing access to CCTS Community Engagement study coordinators, administrative staff, and to CCTS Community Engagement clinical liaisons to support research activities

Community Engagement Request Form

Contact Information:if you would like to request a service or if you would like to have a preliminary consultation about your research, please contact Carol White, MPH, Program Manager at crwhit3@email.uky.edu or 859-218-0588