Faith-Academic Initiatives for Transforming Health (FAITH) in the Delta

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Faith-Academic Initiatives for Transforming Health (FAITH) in the Delta will bring together academics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science (UAMS) (Colleges of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing) and community faith leaders and organizations in two counties in the Delta (Jefferson and Phillips Counties), one ofthe most economically disadvantaged areas of the county. Building on previous community-academic partnerships, the project will involve sharing "best practices" methods (developed in previous partnered work) across counties and moving forward a planning process for a new intervention in each of the two counties. Using a "pure" concept of CBPR, community experts will select a health area for intervention and will be matched with UAMS academics experts who can provide guidance. Community members will receive education about health policy related to their chosen health area and academics will receive training from community experts about partnered research. RELEVANCE: Rural African Americans suffer a "double dose" of health disparities related to both race and rural residency. Disparities are especially severe in the Arkansas Delta region, which is disproportionally affected by poverty. This planning project will build upon longstanding community-academic partnerships to plan for health interventions in two Delta counties (Jefferson and Phillips counties). "Best practices" will be disseminated across counties.