The Community Engagement Core of the NYU-HHC CTSI

The Community Engagement Core of the NYU-HHC CTSI is a campus-community partnership among New York University (NYU), the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), and community and government partners serving New York City’s diverse communities. Community-based research principles (CBPR) guide the work of the Community Engagement Core.

The overall goals of the NYU-HHC CTSI Community Engagement Core are:

  • Promote ongoing community involvement into the research process from the development of research ideas, to design and implementation of research studies to discovery and dissemination
  • Identify research priorities and concerns relevant to the diverse communities of New York City
  • Develop research capacity of community partners to actively engage in the development of clinical and translational research
  • Build research capacity of academic and clinical partners to develop clinical research that follows a CBPR approach
  • Enhance community involvement in the recruitment and retention efforts in clinical trials and translational research studies
  • Enhance meaningful translation and effective dissemination of evidence-based research findings and strategies into clinical and health practices in such a way as to improve adherence and positively alter health-related knowledge, beliefs and behaviors of both clinicians and the public they serve
  • Reduce health disparities in New York City communities

What is Community Engagement?

Community engagement refers to the process of actively including, employing, and retaining community input in the research process. Community input and outreach play critical roles in the acceptance of and adherence to effective medical therapies, in recruitment into clinical trials, in the dissemination of culturally and linguistically appropriate health-related information and in the provision of culturally sensitive health services and programs. A lack of true community partnership in the research process often contributes to profound impairments in the translation of scientific findings to effective practices that improve the public health.

Community input and outreach are critical for many reasons:

  • Fosters the development of clinical and translational research that is relevant to the needs and priorities of the communities to be served
  • Improves acceptance of and adherence to efficacious medical therapies,
  • Improves recruitment and retention into clinical trials,
  • Enhances the dissemination of culturally- and linguistically-appropriate health-related information, and
  • Ensures the provision of culturally-sensitive health services and programs.

Core Partners of the NYU HHC Community Engagement Core

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation’s (HHC) is a primary community partner of the NYU Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
  • Eight of HHC’s 11 facilities participate in NYU-HHC CTSI including:
    o The South Manhattan Network (comprised of Bellevue, Metropolitan, Gouverneur and Coler-Goldwater),
    o Woodhull
    o Coney Island
    o Kings County
    o Lincoln hospitals.
  • HHC Community Provider Service Development Program (HHC Connectx)

NYU Institute for Community Health and Research

  • The NYU Institute for Community Health and Research (ICHR) is a research and education center at the School of Medicine that builds on NYU’s educational and research strengths to address the basic and pressing health needs of NYC’s underserved racial and ethnic communities, as well as other socially disadvantaged populations.

  • Based on CBPR principles, the ICHR emphasizes research, training, and outreach initiatives that integrate community perspectives and empower its members in the process of reducing health disparities.

  • Under ICHR are the following centers and offices:

    • NYU Center for the Study of Asian American Health
    • NYU Center for Latino Health
    • NYU Center for the Health of the African Diaspora
    • NYU Center of Excellence to Eliminate Disparities through Training and Dissemination
    • NYU Health Promotion and Prevention Research Center
    • NYU School of Medicine Office of Diversity Affairs

Key Leadership of the NYU-HHC CTSI Community Engagement Core
  • Mariano Rey, MD – PI and Director
  • Rosa Gil, PhD – Chair, Community Advisory Board
  • Chau Trinh-Shevrin, DrPH – Administrative Director

For more information contact:

Chau Trinh-Shevrin, DrPH
chau.trinh@nyumc.org
212-263-3072