Aligning the Goals of Community Engaged Research: Why and How Academic Medical Centers Can Successfully Engage with Communities to Improve Health

A key goal of the National Institute of Health‘s Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) consortium is improving the health of the nation through community engaged research (CEnR). CEnR requires a mindset and skills that leadership in Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) have not yet the opportunity to learn. This paper seeks to assist AMCs – both within the CTSA consortium and outside of it –in how to better engage with their communities and build a CEnR agenda. CEnR is defined as a cyclical approach to research that shares power and decision-making throughout the research process between scientists and community stakeholders and links research to a translational health agenda that changes behavior, structures and policies. Five steps are suggested for AMCs to consider in working toward the development of a CEnR agenda, including: 1) Recognize that CEnR is ―Real‖ Science 2) Define Community and Identify Partners 3) Learn the Etiquette of Community Engagement 4) Build a Pipeline of CEnR Researchers and 5) Improve Dissemination Plans. AMCs are also encouraged to examine their own institutional structures and examine questions such as: Are institutions flexible, ―community ready‖ partners? Do researchers use the term research ―subjects‖ or research ―participants‖? Are there tenure and promotion paths for junior faculty interested in CEnR? Are members of institutional review boards trained in CEnR?Master of Public Healt