REACH Pathways to Partnerships

To facilitate productive academic-community collaboration, REACH has established the Pathways to Partnerships Program that guides investigators in accessing CCTS services offered across all CCTS key functions. These processes facilitate both outreach to engage community partners and "inreach" to engage UK partners. Both facets are critical to support the bidirectional development of true partnerships.

Pathways to Partnerships builds on REACH infrastructure now in place via a statewide CCTS network consisting of the REACH Office at UK and REACH Field Offices at the five UK Centers for Rural Health. Led by REACH Director Kevin Pearce, MD, MPH and Co-Directors Richard Clayton, PhD, associate dean for research, College of Public Health, and James Norton, PhD, associate dean for community outreach, College of Medicine, and director of the AHECs, REACH is supported by a Lexington-based program coordinator, study coordinator, and administrative assistant.

Each REACH Field Office is led by a health professions liaison, an established community-based health professional uniquely positioned to help bridge university and community borders and to represent his or her communities within the CCTS. REACH liaisons facilitate communication, assess potential for community-participatory research in distinct areas of community concern, and serve as the key points of contact between the CCTS as a whole, the investigators interested in implementing research in those communities, the community members, and other healthcare professionals who initiate community-based research concepts.

Study coordinators based in each REACH Field Office facilitate study implementation in community practices, work with the CCTS Clinical Research Development and Operations Center (CRDOC) to help develop research sites and promote study participation among rural populations, and assist in implementing bidirectional CCTS training and dissemination initiatives.

Modeled on collaborative research ideals promoted within the NIH Public Trust Initiative, the CCTS field-based liaisons and study coordinators transform the way academic institutions engage with health professionals and the public to advance mutual understanding of clinical and translational research.

This extensive REACH network facilitates community engagement in rural populations and, through the REACH field offices, links directly to local hospitals, medical practices, diverse health care professionals, and lay communities.

For additional information on the Pathways to Partnerships Program or to access this service, please use the Contact Information.