Twelve Community-Academic Teams Selected for New CBPR Partnership Academy
The Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (Detroit URC) has selected 12 community-academic teams from across the U.S. to participate in the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Partnership Academy. This new, year-long program is designed to enhance participants' knowledge and skills in CBPR, with the aim of using this collaborative research approach to address racial and ethnic inequities in health in their communities.
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the CBPR Partnership Academy includes a week-long intensive course, taught by both University of Michigan academic researchers and Detroit community partners, at the U-M School of Public Health in July; one year of structured learning opportunities; and access to ongoing networking and mentorship. Throughout the year, the newly formed partnerships will work together to develop and implement a joint CBPR research project focused on improving the health and well-being of the communities involved.
Academy participants were selected through an extensive, competitive review process and hail from the states of Illinois, Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon, North Carolina, New York, Washington, and Wisconsin. There are participants from large cities, rural areas, and a tribal community—and the communities they are working with include low-income new mothers, immigrant workers, HIV-positive individuals, and others. Some of the issues being addressed by the Academy teams include obesity, violence prevention, worker health and safety, and mental health.
"We are very excited about our inaugural cohort for the CBPR Partnership Academy," said Barbara Israel, Director of the Detroit URC and one of the early co-pioneers of the innovative CBPR approach. "It's a very diverse group of community and academic partners, all of whom are doing very meaningful work."