Community Based Research Core

Goal

The overall goal of the OCRE is to reduce health disparities by engaging a broad spectrum of scientists and community partners in the clinical and translational research process, disseminating research findings, and stimulating the adoption of best practices and evidence-based interventions.

The mission of the Office of Community Research and Engagement (OCRE) is to build a sustainable translational research capacity by establishing stable community-academic partnerships.

Core Aim

To promote community participation in the PRCTRC decision making bodies (i.e., setting research priorities, reviewing patient recruitment and retention strategies, and advising researchers on the community relevance of clinical and translational research).
To disseminate research efforts and findings, stimulate adoption of evidence based practices, and increase public trust in research and research participation.
To design and facilitate training to PRCTRC researchers in community-based research, cultural sensitivity, and community recruitment and retention.
To provide expert advice and support to researchers in the conduct of research in community settings.

Main Activities

Community Engaged Research capacity building activities for researchers and for community based organizations.
Technical assistance, consultation and financial support for collaborative efforts and Community Academic Research Partnership (CAPs) development.
Translational research and Evidence Based Practices (EBP) promotion.
Collaborative research partnerships promotion and community research dissemination, increasing public trust in research.

Our Services

OCRE’S SERVICES

Developing Community-Academic Partnerships
Developing Evidence Based Practices within a Community-Academic Partnership Relation
Funding identification for Community Based Research

EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES INVENTORY

One way in which OCRE accomplishes its mission of building capacity for sustainable translational research through the establishment of community-academic partnerships, is working in collaboratively with the

Puerto Rico Evidence Based Board (PREBB). The PREBB is a diverse group of stakeholders that are responsible for developing and implementing an agenda to identify, establish, promote, and disseminate evidence-based practices/programs in areas of health promotion and disease prevention for Puerto Rico. This body is being subsidized by the Puerto Rico Strategic Framework State Prevention Enhancement Grant (PRSPF SPE) (SAMHSA Grant No. 1U79SP018656-01).

A major goal of PREBB is to build and maintain an easily accessible, user-friendly centralized listing of EBPs in various areas of health concern, with detailed information about each program presented in Spanish (*Archive of Evidence Based Programs and Practices for Prevention*). OCRE’s contribution to this broader effort has been to produce comprehensive lists of EBPs in the four health priority areas of PRCTRC: HIV, cancer, neurological disorders, and cardiovascular health.

Here you will find a thorough listing of EBPs in the areas of HIV and Cancer Prevention with helpful information to make informed decisions when selecting which program/practice to implement in your project. (Comparable listings will be posted for neurological disorders and cardiovascular health in early 2013.) This dissemination tool will serve as a resource for academic researchers, community-based organizations, and other community stakeholders to evaluate and choose the most appropriate evidence-based program for implementation in their service area or community in Puerto Rico, resulting in more culturally appropriate, effective and cost-effective interventions.

PARTNERSHIP READINESS FOR COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH (CBPR)

REQUEST SUPPORT

OCRE RFS: Each year, OCRE opens a Request for Support Opportunity (“RFS”) to promote community-academic partnership start up and development. A combination of technical assistance and economic incentive is offered throughout a period of a year, with the option of a longer period of technical assistance in those cases where the partners decide to continue working together beyond the funding period. Solicitation is open year around through OCRE’s contact personnel: ocre-prctrc.rcm@upr.edu