During the past 2 years, COVID-19 has been a prime focus of Community-Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) as we work to promote health equity and social justice. In this ever-changing landscape, we find that our knowledge and expertise in community engagement is paramount, and it is vital to share that knowledge with others who are fighting for health equity during this pandemic and beyond.
This past year, the CCPH RADx-UP team has been facilitating Office Hours and Trainings to assist community engagement needs of the CDCC and RADx-UP funded projects nationwide. These services are designed to increase the capacity of community-based organizations, academic institutions, and other front-line leaders to forge and maintain effective partnerships and programs. Below are some of the FAQs we have received about our Office Hours and Training. If you’re considering whether our services are the right option for you, we encourage you to read through these questions and answers. If you have any more questions, please reach out to us via email at info@stratoscreativedev.com.
Office Hours:
What happens during office hours?
Office Hours are a virtual consultation service designed to support the community engagement needs of RADx-UP projects. In a 30 minute to 1-hour appointment, projects meet one-on-one with the CCPH community engagement team to discuss challenges, ask questions, and receive recommendations and resources. Each consultation differs depending on the specific needs of the project but always addresses the common goals of increasing uptake of COVID-19 testing and maximizing community engagement. CCPH may ask project representatives to share challenges and strengths, describe their community partnerships, and reflect on needed and available resources. Our team then follows up with a list of recommendations and resources for the project.
What can people gain from taking part in Office hours?
We have consulted with projects on topics such as refining recruitment approaches, improving communication with clinical support staff, and disseminating appropriate messaging around COVID-19 testing, vaccination, and prevention. We can also support projects with partnership building, community engagement planning, and needs assessments.
How does the CCPH team help the people that contact you become successful?
The CCPH community engagement team acts as a sounding board to help projects clarify, organize, and strengthen their processes. We can help them identify resources in their community, provide toolkits and best practices, and connect them with knowledgeable colleagues. While the CCPH team has a depth and breadth of experience in community engagement practices, we do not have all the answers. Solutions come from the difficult but essential work of partnership-building within communities. Office Hours provides support in doing that work.
Who are these office hours for?
Office Hours are available to RADx-UP project staff and community partners. That could include PIs, project managers, support staff, representatives from community-based organizations, community health workers, Advisory Board members, or other key stakeholders involved in project design and implementation.
Do you have testimonials from people who have attended office hours? Can we share them?
Not yet, we are working on it!
How can RADx-UP Projects schedule an Office Hours consultation?
RADx-UP Project team members and partners can schedule a consultation at: calendly.com/ccphealth
Trainings:
What are the current trainings that are offered?
Please review our menu of dynamic trainings and services designed to meet the community engagement needs of the CDCC and RADx-UP funded projects.
Who are the facilitators of the current trainings?
The CCPH RADx-UP Team
- Al Richmond, Co-lead CDCC Community Engagement Core
- Maryland Grier-Union, Program Director
- Magdalene Wellman, Program Manager
- Melvin Jackson, Program Consultant
- Fatima Guerrab, Program Coordinator
- Emily Finley, Program Coordinator
- Ja’Nell Henry, Program Assistant
What are the credentials the training facilitators have?
All of the training facilitators bring a commitment to social justice and health equity through expertise in community-engaged research, structural racism and inequality, and community partnership building.
Al Richmond brings more than 25 years of experience in a career that has uniquely blended social health and public health. Richmond has played significant roles locally and internationally to advance community engagement in health research. He holds an MSW from Ohio State University. He is a certified facilitator for the Poverty Simulation, Intercultural Development Inventory, and ToP Facilitation Method. He strongly believes in the work of PCORI and promotes increased participation of the community and patient organizations in its work.
Maryland Grier-Union, brings more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, focusing on improving health and health care. She has directed and managed: program development and management, community engagement, community-based participatory research, public policy, and marketing communications initiatives. She received a bachelor’s degree in Marketing/Business Administration from the University of Maryland and completed graduate-level coursework at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work and Emerson College in Boston.
Magdalene Wellman, MPH, CHES®, has experience working across various sectors of healthcare. Magdalene has partnered with health systems, government entities, corporations, and individuals at multiple levels. Her work has focused on patient-centered, evidence-based health communication and the role it plays in improved outcomes. Magdalene earned a BS in Psychology from The University of Alabama and an MPH, with a focus in Health Behavior, from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Melvin Jackson, MPH, has over 40 years of experience in community engagement, public health research, and program coordination. He serves as a Senior Consultant for a number of initiatives CCPH leads.
Fatima Z. Guerrab, MPH, CHES® is a solutions-oriented researcher, practitioner, and consultant. She has over 10 years of experience assisting organizations across the globe foster innovative methods to influence policies across systems to maximize health outcomes for all utilizing a racial equity lens and a community-based participatory research approach. With a BS in Public Health Education from North Carolina Central University and an MPH in Health Behavior from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Fatima holds a wealth of experience in program planning and evaluation, partnership building, and training and facilitation.
Emily D. Finley, MPH, has a wealth of experience in public health programming, health education, and community-driven research. She is passionate about promoting health equity for historically marginalized populations, including immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ folks, and women. She holds a BA in English from Barnard College of Columbia University and an MPH in Community Health & Prevention from Drexel University.
Ja’Nell Henry has experience working to effectively create spaces and offer resources that encourage holistically healthy communities. Her areas of expertise include: project coordination, continuous quality improvement, training content development, community relationship building, and new project development and implementation. She holds a B.A. in Spanish Language and minors in Business and Nonprofit Management from Guilford College.
Who are the training designed for? (Community orgs, non-profits, university organizations)
As the community and academic partners of the CDCC aim to ensure that all Americans have access to COVID-19 testing, the CCPH RADx-UP Team leads trainings across the CDCC around best practices of community-engaged research. Trainings offered thus far have focused on the following content areas:
- Community engagement frameworks
- Principles of community engagement and partnerships
- Strategies needed to build trust and authentic partnerships
- Ethical considerations in research
- Sustainability of health promotion programs
- Processes for ending partnerships/projects
- Communication
- Effective listening
- Navigating difficult conversations
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Basic skills of MI
- Practical application of MI
How can someone from the CDCC request a training?
If you are a CDCC partner and are interested in scheduling a training, please complete the RADx-UP Coordination & Data Collection Center CEC Request Form in Asana.
How often are the trainings offered?
CCPH offers trainings for CDCC partners on a quarterly basis.
What do past attendees have to say about CCPH trainings?
“Fantastic and informative session. Engaging, enjoyable and I learned so much. The stories and examples were very helpful, and the opportunity to share in what felt like a very safe environment. I look forward to the next session.”
“We got to know each other and gain insight into our own motivations for doing this work.”
“I wish I had had this information prior to the last research project I was involved with.”
“It just felt like I was in the right place.”
“I’m so looking forward to continuing this conversation going forward! I think we’ve started off in a great place, for me it affirmed a lot of existing knowledge and think it provided a great foundation for the group who all have diverse backgrounds and experiences. I appreciated the interactive components of the session and would enjoy seeing those continue going forward!”
If you are interested in learning more about the trainings and services we can potentially offer you, please explore our menu of dynamic trainings and services.