Promoting community health collaboration between CTSA programs and Cooperative Extension to advance rural health equity: Insights from a national Un-Meeting.

Robert Rhyne,Michael S Gutter,Latoya J O’Neal,Melissa J Vilaro,Laura Sugarwala,Giselle Navarro,Roberta Riportella,Claire Baralt,Samantha R Paige,Sarah M Szurek,John Mathias

doi:10.1017/cts.2020.13

Abstract

Addressing rural health disparities has unique challenges that require cross-sector collaborations to address social determinants of health and help those in need to get connected to care continuum. We brought the Clinical and Translational Science Award, Institutional Development Award Program Infrastructure for Clinical and Translational Research, and Cooperative Extension System Programs together for a one-day semi-structured meeting to discuss collaborative opportunities to address rural health disparities. Session notes and event materials were analyzed for themes to facilitate collaboration such as defining rural, critical issues, and organizational strengths in support of collaboration. Across 16 sessions, there were 26 broad topics of discussion. The most frequent topics included "barriers and challenges," "strategies and opportunities," and "defining rural." There is a growing understanding of the opportunity that collaboration between these large programs provides in addressing rural health disparities.

Highlights

Addressing health disparities remains a national priority, with federal initiatives dedicated to reducing preventable morbidity and premature mortality in rural communities throughout the USA [1]
This paper describes the power of facilitating collaborations between the Cooperative Extension System (CES) and translational research networks supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to mobilize partnerships and to address systemic factors that perpetuate rural health disparities in the nation
As we consider the potential for collaborations between CES and Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), we offer the following practical considerations

Summary

Introduction

Addressing health disparities remains a national priority, with federal initiatives dedicated to reducing preventable morbidity and premature mortality in rural communities throughout the USA [1]. This paper describes the power of facilitating collaborations between the Cooperative Extension System (CES) and translational research networks supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to mobilize partnerships and to address systemic factors that perpetuate rural health disparities in the nation. Designed to shorten the time it takes for scientific discoveries to improve health, the CTSA program has been led and funded by the NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) since the center’s creation in 2012. Based at medical research institutions across the USA, each CTSA hub engages a variety of partners, collaborators, and stakeholders to advance translational research

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Conclusion