title: Health Extension and Clinical and Translational Science: An Innovative Strategy for Community Engagement.
abstract: Health Extension Regional Officers (HEROs) through the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNMHSC) help to facilitate university-community engagement throughout New Mexico. HEROs, based in communities across the state, link priority community health needs with university resources in education, service, and research. Researchers' studies are usually aligned with federal funding priorities rather than with health priorities expressed by communities. To help overcome this misalignment, the UNM Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) provides partial funding for HEROs to bridge the divide between research priorities of UNMHSC and health priorities of the state's communities. A bidirectional partnership between HEROs and CTSC researchers was established, which led to: 1) increased community engaged studies through the CTSC, 2) the HERO model itself as a subject of research, 3) a HERO-driven increase in local capacity in scholarship and grant writing, and 4) development of training modules for investigators and community stakeholders on community-engaged research. As a result, 5 grants were submitted, 4 of which were funded, totaling $7,409,002.00, and 3 research articles were published. Health extension can serve as a university-funded, community-based bridge between community health needs and Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) research capacity, opening avenues for translational research.
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM. akaufman@salud.unm.edu.
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Robert L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Rhyne
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anastasoff
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ronquillo
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Marnie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nixon
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Shiraz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Charlene
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poola
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Page-Reeves
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nkouaga
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cordova
authors.affiliation: From the Office for Community Health, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Larson
mesh_terms: D001363:Awards and Prizes; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000191:economics*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations / Q000191:economics*; D005376:Financial Management / Q000379:methods; D006292:Health Priorities / Q000191:economics*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009516:New Mexico; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000191:economics*; D014495:Universities / Q000191:economics
keywords: Grants; Health Priorities; New Mexico; Research Personnel; Translational Medical Research; Universities; Writing