This page describes projects and activities the OCBPH is involved in with community & institutional partners.
Arkansas Community Health Worker Association
The OCBPH is a strong advocate and partner of the Arkansas Community Health Worker Association (ARCHWA), the state’s professional association of community health workers. ARCHWA was formed in 2015 through the support and guidance of the COPH, the Arkansas Department of Health, and many other stakeholder partners and CHW organizations. Learn more about ARCHWA at http://www.archwa.org/.
The OCBPH is partnering with ARCHWA and Tri-County Rural Health Network to implement a new standardized Basic CHW Certificate training in 2019. Mrs. Anna Huff Davis (community liaison) and Ms. Naomi Cottoms (Executive Director for Tri-County) piloted the training in Phillips county in March and April 2019 with support from the Arkansas Prevention Research Center and the Community Health Centers of Arkansas. The pilot included 80 hours of classroom training and 40 hours of field exercises outside of class.
The OCBPH will also be partnering with ARCHWA and the Arkansas Department of Health on a long-term effort beginning later in 2019 to work on improving the infrastructure for CHWs in Arkansas. These efforts will include assessing and addressing barriers and facilitators to employment among potential employers, development of a state certification process, specialized certificates in hypertension control, diabetes prevention and self-management education, as well as training for CHW supervisors.
Dos and Don’ts of Community Engagement Workshop
The Community Advisory Board of the Arkansas Prevention Research Center worked with the staff of the OCBPH to develop and implement the Dos and Don’ts of Community Engagement Workshop. This innovative workshop helps to increase understanding among investigators, research staff, and health professional students about how to be respectful in partnering with communities. The OCBPH has partnered with the Translational Research Institute (TRI) at UAMS to implement many workshops with community partners. If you are interested in attending a workshop in the future please contact Jinger Morgan to sign up at jmorgan@uams.edu.
Community Scientist Academy
The TRI’s Community Advisory Board recommended that the TRI’s community engagement teamwork with them to implement a community scientist academy (CSA) to engage community members and patients who are underrepresented in research, have no research background, and who may lack trust and interest in participating in research. Graduates of the CSA are invited to influence research in a number of ways such as by serving on community review boards of research or as grant reviewers for the TRI’s pilot grants. Read our article published in the Journal of Clinical and Translational Science about the development and piloting of the CSA. You can also learn about our recent CSA conducted with students from the Little Rock School District.
Community Partner Celebration
Each year we partner with the TRI to recognize and celebrate our community partners through our community partner celebration. Go here to learn about the partners who were honored in 2017: Partners Honored. We are now soliciting UAMS faculty, staff, and students for nominations of partners they have worked within the past year.
Transform Health Arkansas
Transform Health Arkansas is an initiative of the Arkansas Transgender Equality Coalition (ArTEC) implemented in partnership with the OCBPH and many other stakeholders focused on improving the health and healthcare of trans Arkansans. Through engagement funding from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, this project identified healthcare issues of highest priority among trans Arkansans and is working together to address them through research, education, and improved quality and access to care. We recently received a Eugene Washington Engagement award from PCORI to broaden our partnership regionally in the south into North Carolina and Georgia. Read about this new Regional Transgender Health Research and Education Collaborative and contact Katy Allison if you want to get involved at kallison@uams.edu.
Please feel free to contact us for more information about any of these projects and learn about ways you can become involved.