Project GRACE: a staged approach to development of a community-academic partnership to address HIV in rural African American communities.
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.
Corbie-Smith
Giselle
G
Department of Social Medicine, University of North Carolina (UNC)-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. gcorbie@med.unc.edu
Adimora
Adaora A
AA
Youmans
Selena
S
Muhammad
Melvin
M
Blumenthal
Connie
C
Ellison
Arlinda
A
Akers
Aletha
A
Council
Barbara
B
Thigpen
Yolanda
Y
Wynn
Mysha
M
Lloyd
Stacey W
SW
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*