Community

Community Engagement at SIRC 

SIRC prioritizes community-engaged minority health and health disparities research in partnership with communities disproportionately affected by health disparities in the Southwest. 

We follow key principles and practices of community-engaged research to engage community members from all audiences and in all aspects of the research process -- from conceptualization and implementation to dissemination and translation of results. 

Our goal is to facilitate equitable, collaborative, and sustainable relationships with community partners to address their health-related concerns and promote participation in SIRC’s research activities.

We use strategies from across the full continuum of community engagement in research, including community-based participatory research. What level and type of engagement we choose depends on the specific aims of each research project, research stage (e.g., conceptualization, data collection, interpretation, or dissemination), as well as characteristics, expertise, needs, and interests of our community partners.

Key practices include transparent and bidirectional communication strategies, shared decision making, resource sharing, as well as community capacity building, all of which contribute to creating sustainable relationships.

Our key partner is SIRC’s long-standing Community Advisory Board (CAB). We also collaborate with local community partners, including community members, health and service organizations, local prevention and health promotion coalitions, and city, county and state agencies and policymakers.