Building a research agenda for community health centers and the medically underserved: meeting proceedings.
OBJECTIVE
Community, migrant, and homeless health centers (CHCs) are an integral component of the nation's safety net with a proven record of success in access, quality, and cost effectiveness. Still, as CHCs face rising numbers of vulnerable patients and shrinking resources, they must continue to improve quality of care to further narrow health disparities, as well as demonstrate their cost effectiveness and value to policymakers.


OBJECTIVE
CHCs, researchers, national partners, and others met in December 2005 to produce a consensus-driven research agenda that lays out research priorities for CHCs and the medically underserved. This article details the meeting process and resulting research agenda.


CONCLUSIONS
The meeting focused on three domains that touch on community need: health information technology (HIT), quality improvement, and cost effectiveness and value. Community representatives helped to drive research priorities.


CONCLUSIONS
CHCs must continually demonstrate their efficiency and effectiveness. Accordingly, the research agenda must be continually revisited through a collaborative process.
Proser
Michelle
M
National Association of Community Health Centers, USA.
Aaron
Kaytura Felix
KF
Meyers
David
D
Cornell
Claire
C
D003151:Community Health Centers; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000191:economics*; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D006801:Humans; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical