title: Development of an interinstitutional collaboration to support community-partnered research addressing the health of emerging Latino populations.
abstract: Collaborative and participatory research approaches have received considerable attention as means to understanding and addressing disparities in health and health care. In this article, the authors describe the process of building a three-way partnership among two academic health centers-Duke University and the University of North Carolina-and members of the Latino community in North Carolina to develop and pilot test a lay health advisor program to improve Latina immigrants' mental health and coping skills. The authors applied the principles of participatory research to engage community and academic partners, to select the health topic and population, and to develop program goals and objectives. Key challenges were negotiating administrative structures and learning institutional cultures, as well as dealing with contextual issues such as mental health reform and antiimmigrant sentiment in the state.Some important lessons learned are to seek opportunities for taking advantage of existing relationships and expertise at each academic institution, to be respectful of the burden of research on vulnerable communities, and to involve community partners at all stages of the process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. gcorbie@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corbie-Smith
authors.forename: Susan D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Yaggy
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lyn
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: India J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Ornelas
authors.forename: Tia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
mesh_terms: D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000639:trends*; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D016730:Program Development / Q000379:methods*; D014481:United States