"The Community Action Research Track (CART) at UT Southwestern in the Department of Family and Community Medicine is an innovative community-based research program used for training future physicians in population medicine, social determinants of health, community-based participatory research, and health promotion and disease prevention. The CART symbolizes a bridge between the student and the community working as one to reduce and eliminate health disparities among the underserved"

-Mark DeHaven, Ph.D., CART Founder;
Chief, Division of Community Medicine-

Community Action Research Track (CART)

The Community Action Research Track (CART) offers medical students a longitudinal experience combining community-based effectiveness research with care delivery in underserved areas. The experience is based on the principles of population medicine with special emphasis on community-based health promotion and disease prevention.

The CART introduces students to the population health perspective through active community engagement and collaboration. In addition, the CART program seeks to increase engagement of students in a coordinated program of didactic and service-learning opportunities designed to improve health and reduce health disparities in underserved communities.

This approach emphasizes the need for population-based strategies incorporating the principles of health promotion and disease prevention, in order to promote optimal health outcomes for all regardless of age, race and ethnicity, gender, income, or education level.

The CART provides students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to effectively improve and maintain the health of all people, and in a way that allows students to contribute to reducing and eliminating health disparities among the underserved.

Goals and Objectives

The CART is based on the principles, goals and objectives of Healthy People 2010, and the social determinants of health, including lifestyle and behavior, genetic, environmental, and access to care factors. Using this approach, the CART seeks to educate medical students on the need for population-based strategies and methods for incorporating the principles of health promotion and disease prevention. This is done in order to promote optimal health outcomes for all, regardless of age, race and ethnicity, gender, income, or education level.

The primary aim of the program is to implement a longitudinal training curriculum and related community-based training experiences for medical students. This aim is based on the population medicine perspective, along with innovative community-based research and service-learning opportunities. The CART provides students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to effectively improve and maintain the health of all people. This allows students to contribute to reducing and eliminating health disparities among the underserved.