title: Project GRACE: a staged approach to development of a community-academic partnership to address HIV in rural African American communities.
abstract: The HIV epidemic is a health crisis in rural African American communities in the Southeast United States; however, to date little attention has been paid to community-academic collaborations to address HIV in these communities. Interventions that use a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to address individual, social, and physical environmental factors have great potential for improving community health. Project GRACE (Growing, Reaching, Advocating for Change and Empowerment) uses a CBPR approach to develop culturally sensitive, feasible, and sustainable interventions to prevent the spread of HIV in rural African American communities. This article describes a staged approach to community-academic partnership: initial mobilization, establishment of organizational structure, capacity building for action, and planning for action. Strategies for engaging rural community members at each stage are discussed; challenges faced and lessons learned are also described. Careful attention to partnership development has resulted in a collaborative approach that has mutually benefited both the academic and community partners.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. gcorbie@med.unc.edu
authors.forename: Giselle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corbie-Smith
authors.forename: Adaora A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Adimora
authors.forename: Selena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Youmans
authors.forename: Melvin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Muhammad
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blumenthal
authors.forename: Arlinda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ellison
authors.forename: Aletha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akers
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Council
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Thigpen
authors.forename: Mysha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wynn
authors.forename: Stacey W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lloyd
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D057191:Capacity Building / Q000458:organization & administration; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D054521:Cultural Competency; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D012424:Rural Population; D014495:Universities / Q000458:organization & administration*