ACTRI Community Advisory Board

CAB Goals and Objectives:

ACTRI's goal for the CAB is to foster relationships and strong partnerships among community members and health researchers, be involved in the full translational research process (e.g., identify research priorities, identify research questions, study design, study implementation, results interpretation, dissemination, sustainability) and advise on community priorities for discovery.

Communication: Support communication between ACTRI researchers and the community by discussing and addressing community issues, health needs and concerns related to research, while working to increase awareness of ACTRI within the community.

• Provide input and feedback to the Population Science units on community health and related needs and priorities

• Meet regularly with Population Science and Executive Committee to discuss strategic plans, policy changes, resource allocation and unmet needs

• Provide on-going input to research personnel how community members think and feel about health research

• Facilitate communication and collaboration between community-based organization and UCSD Health Science in general and CTRI programs

• Innovate strategies to overcome misinformation, stigma, and mistrust in research participation with activities respecting communities' cultural sensitivity and perceptions. Fostering an understanding of diverse cultural norms and values

Partnerships: Foster relationships and partnerships with community members to build a sense of respect and trust, while working collaboratively with community partners.

• Provide input on priorities and research issues in support of emerging health needs

• Support Population Science outreach activities, including workshops, webinars, trainings, events, Storytelling Campaigns, etc.

• Manages interactions with community partners and helps to incorporate community ideas and priorities into ACTRI resource allocations and decisions

• Deliver transparent communication about the proposed research's purpose, methods, and potential benefits. Developing a shared sense of trust by and between ACTRI and community members

• Building partnerships with community agencies that are mutually beneficial

CAB Members play a key role in the success of translational research by promoting translational education and research projects and sharing timely information with their communities. They serve as a bi-directional link between the community and the ACTRI. They work to identify and advocate for the health issues and concerns of San Diego, Imperial Valley, and the regional communities, particularly those with diverse populations and populations typically at higher risk of poor health outcomes. Additionally, they are in the unique position to provide community perspectives on the entire translational process.

  Contact Us

(Select "PopSci" as the unit)

 

ACTRI's Population Science and Community Engagement unit actively engages in providing the infrastructure, resources, and training to guide, inform and support socially relevant and culturally responsive community engaged research. Below are education and training opportunities from fellow ACTRI units engaged in population science and community engagement:

Research Center for Optimal Digital Ethics (ReCODE) Health | Building Research Integrity & Capacity (BRIC)

• At ReCODE | health, we strive to increase research literacy and capacity among researchers and community members through our educational initiatives including courses, webinars, and publications. Learn more here.

• BRIC was initiated in 2002 with funding from the National Institutes of Health. Our goal was to educate community members, including Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Promotores, who were assisting academic researchers. CHWs and Promotores were involved as members of the research team to assist with Latino health research studies, yet had no formal research training. Without appropriate training, researchers were concerned about the scientific integrity of their community based/placed research. An initial goal of BRIC was to develop culturally-tailored, language-appropriate, formal research education that included an introduction to the scientific method and the importance of conducting research ethically and responsibly.

BRIC Courses

• An Interactive Guide for Promotores de Salud/Community Health Workers | BRIC Training: This course is designed to increase research literacy and awareness of ethical research practices among community members involved in academic research. Our target learners are research team members, including Promotores and Community Health Workers, who assist with designing and implementing community and clinic-based health research.
  • A total of 64 individuals have completed the training with a passing score of 80% since 2021

• Designing Research for Diversity

• In partnership with the ACTRI, this course is for researchers to design and carry out research involving Latino and other underrepresented populations. It is designed to increase awareness about engaging, recruiting, and working with diverse populations in research.

• A total of 13 individuals have completed the free online self-paced course. The UC San Diego Clinical Research Enhancement through Supplemental Training (CREST) Program offered the course to 11 and 15 students in 2022 and 2023, respectively. 

UCSD ACTRI Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC)

The UCSD ACTRI DISC is a center focused on dissemination and implementation science across UC San Diego Health Sciences. Key activities provided by the UC San Diego ACTRI DISC include training, consultation, technical assistance, and mentoring to advance D&I science with a local, national, and global impact. The DISC offers a monthly Dissemination and Implementation Science Seminar that covers a wide-variety of topics. Additionally, the DISC co-hosts with the IN STEP Children’s Mental Health Center and San Diego Center for AIDS Research Implementation Science Hub, a bi-monthly seminar series: “Qualitative Methods for Implementation Research and Community Engagement”

•  UCSD ACTRI DISC Seminar Series
• San Diego Center for AIDS Research (SD CFAR) Implementation Science Hub: Qualitative Methods for Implementation Research and Community Engagement Series

Team Contacts

• ACTRI Population Science & Community Engagement Unit

  • Select "PopSci" as the unit

• Community Research Partnerships (CRP)

• Center for Community Health (CCH)

• Dissemination & Implementation Science Center (DISC)

• Population Research Scientific Methods (PRSM)