Community Action Research Experience

Community Action Research Experience (CARE) is a program designed to train family medicine residents in community action research and equip them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to adequately engage their community and at the same time care for underserved populations, thereby reducing health disparities in the Dallas County area. It was born out of the concern that current training models may not adequately prepare practicing physicians to partner with, and impact the health of, their communities.

Community action research/community based participatory research (CBPR) is defined as a collaborative approach to research that equally involves all partners in the research process.CBPR has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities. 

Goals and Objectives

The overarching goal of the CARE program is to teach family medicine residents community action research skills that will increase their community engagement. The program’s objectives are to:

• Design, pilot, implement and evaluate a residency curriculum in Community Action Research for local use and national dissemination
• Provide in-depth training for residents committed to enter fellowships or practices that focus on underserved care
• Bridge the gap in UT Southwestern’s community training pipeline between our medical students programs and fellowship in Community Action Research.

The CARE program responds to the needs of the underserved Dallas population. If lack of insurance, poverty, unsafe living conditions, environmental contamination or other factors are contributing to illness and disease, then a collaborative effort is needed to remedy these conditions. The community-based action research approach is a collaborative endeavor to grow a model for understanding health and disease determinants and supporting mechanisms to promote healthier lives.

Design

The three-year CARE curriculum in Community Action Research focuses on two levels of resident commitment, namely: an innovative four-week block rotation for PGY2 residents, and an intensive three-year cumulative studies Community Action Research pathway leading to an area of concentration in Community Action Research for two residents per year. In the PGY3 year, CARE pathway residents spend three elective months engaged with a community partner, providing service and completing a community-based research project that is strongly expected to be of publishable and/or fundable quality.

Update

Currently in its second year, CARE has two graduates who have been awarded certificates in Community Action Research. One of the CARE graduates is currently a CARE Research Fellow working with underserved populations. There are four residents currently enrolled in the CARE program.

The CARE program, as well as the residents’ research projects, have been accepted and presented at several professional meetings and conferences.

CARE Residents’ Research Projects

Clinical Effectiveness of Shared Medical Appointment (SMA) for Diabetic Patients in the Parkland Family Medicine Clinic in Dallas, Texas.

Awareness and Prevention of Osteoporosis among South Asian Women.

Barriers to Healthcare Facing the South Asian Population in Dallas, Texas.