Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences-Community Engagement Core (CEC)

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PROJECT SUMMARY- Community Engagement Core (CEC) The University of Kentucky Center for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences (UK-CARES) Community Engagement Core (CEC) will grow, maintain, and enhance strong, sustained, multidirectional community-academic partnerships that 1) support meaningful community engagement; 2) build environmental health literacy; 3) reduce environmental health risks; and 4) decrease health disparities in rural Appalachia. Decades of legacy mining and fracking operations, as well as an aging water infrastructure, have resulted in exposure to water and air contaminants which have led to community concerns about water and air quality as well as emerging environmental health threats. The CEC will build on a strong foundation of successful community engagement and support environmental health science (EHS) by connecting investigators with community partners to promote projects consistent with the three science themes of the Center—(a) Health Impacts of Waterborne Contaminants; (b) Health Impacts of Indoor & Outdoor Airborne Contaminants; and (c) Emerging Environmental Health Threats. The CEC will use an iterative multidirectional process that brings local knowledge into the Center, leverages UK-CARES’ investigator strengths and institutional support, reports back research findings with at-risk communities, and encourages solution-focused communication among community and organizational stakeholders. Specifically, the aims of the CEC are to: 1) foster and cultivate multidirectional community-academic partnerships engaged in UK-CARES research that is responsive to regional environmental health issues, needs and concerns; 2) translate and disseminate EHS findings through science communication and advocacy training to foster clinical decision making and policy formation; and 3) strengthen partnerships with community and healthcare stakeholders in UK-CARES’ environmental health research across the translational spectrum. First, we will engage our Stakeholder Advisory Board members to offer culturally appropriate insight that will inform and assist Center investigators in their research. The CEC will use formal (e.g., focus groups) and informal (e.g., listening sessions) means to engage in multi-directional dialogue with community stakeholders to assess environmental health concerns. In turn, the CEC will serve as a bridge to and from the community to facilitate community engagement in EHS that leverages the strengths of UK-CARES and is responsive to community concerns. Second, will provide training in effective science communication and advocacy with healthcare providers, faculty, and community stakeholders. We will build on our impactful science communication training curriculum to prepare scientists for effective multi-modal dissemination of findings, including use of evidence-based advocacy skills with policymakers. Lastly, we will collaborate with the Integrated Health Sciences Facility Core to create tailored multi-modal report back approaches to reach healthcare providers to promote clinical decision making related to how the environment affects health in the region, and policymakers, to promote policy formation that fosters environmental justice.