The Community Research Liaison Model: Facilitating community-engaged research.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community-Based Participatory Research
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Community-engaged research (CEnR) is crucial for addressing health priorities identified by communities.
• Building trust and capacity in rural communities is essential for effective research partnerships.
• Existing models may not adequately support community-academic collaborations focused on local health needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and operationalization of the Community Research Liaison Model (CRLM).
• To present a novel framework for facilitating community-academic research partnerships.
• To demonstrate the CRLM's effectiveness in supporting community-identified health priorities.

Main Methods:

• A multi-phase process was employed to design and implement a replicable community engagement model.
• The CRLM utilizes a conceptual framework outlining principles, objectives, and actions.
• Operationalization involved deploying Community Research Liaisons across predominantly rural Oregon counties.

Main Results:

• The CRLM has been fully implemented across Oregon, supporting 18 rural counties with six liaisons.
• Since 2017, nearly 300 community projects have been facilitated by the liaison team.
• The model has proven successful in fostering CEnR and community-academic research partnerships.

Conclusions:

• The CRLM effectively facilitates community-engaged research and strengthens community-academic partnerships.
• The model's dynamic foundation allows for responsiveness to lessons learned from communities and researchers.
• The CRLM is expanding as an equitable strategy to address health disparities in Oregon.