Engaging the community through research: Lessons Learned

Presenters :

Stephen Darcy, Faculty of Medicine; Lisa Bishop, School of Pharmacy & Faculty of Medicine; Harold Druken, Community Board representative.

A Memorial University family medicine clinic and a small urban community are collaborating on a community-based participatory research (CBPR) project to explore the needs of the youth in the community. In this process, a Community Alliance of the three organizations within the community emerged which included the community board, the local school and the university supported health centre. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a tailored community-based program using a coordinated community-based strategy to achieve long-term benefits on population health and well-being.

The presentation will consist of a panel discussion of representatives from the community and the university. Each member of the panel will speak briefly about their role in the evolution of this Community Alliance including the enablers and barriers that were encountered throughout the project. Lessons learned from this project will be highlighted. The facilitator will engage the audience by soliciting discussion from the floor to gain feedback and insights from others experiences.