Community-Campus Partnership Support
Round 10 Awardees – Spring 2024
Funding Period: May 2024 – May 2025
Using Community Networking Opportunities and Implementation Science to Increase Access to Early Detection and Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and Evidence Based Interventions for Arizona’s Families
NAU Lead Academic Partner: Maria Baldino, OTD, MS, OTR/L, BCP, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy
Community Partners: Valerie Pieraccini, MS, OTR, Vice President of Clinical Operations and Innovation, United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona
Partner Website: United Cerebral Palsy of Central Arizona
Lindsay Moore, PT, DPT, PCS, Physical Therapist, DMG Children’s Rehabilitative Services
Partner Website: DMG Children’s Rehabilitative Services
Goal of Partnership: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability and can be diagnosed within the first six months of a child’s life. However, many children are not diagnosed until they are between 12 and 24 months old, after the crucial period of development that occurs in the first six months. The partners will explore ways to bridge gaps between the best practices for early diagnosis and current practices used in Arizona to improve the quality of care for children with CP and their caregivers.
Collaboration with Promotoras to Develop Stress Reduction Practices for Farm Workers
NAU Lead Academic Partner: Tara Bautista, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences
Community Partner: Emma Torres, MSW, Executive Director and Founder, Campesinos Sin Fronteras
Partner Website: Campesinos Sin Fronteras
Goal of Partnership: Campesinos Sin Fronteras (CSF) is a farmworker advocacy group that employs community health workers (promotoras) who are trained and certified as train-the-trainer educators by the Arizona Department of Agriculture. This partnership will explore opportunities to develop culturally relevant stress-reduction programs for farmworkers that will complement the existing programming offered by CSF’s promotoras. The partners will spend time building trust, generating an understanding of community needs and desires, and identifying ways to tailor the program/s to fit the needs of specific groups within the community.
Health Equity within the Four Sacred Mountains of the Navajo: Joining academia and healthcare in addressing psychosocial oncology support
NAU Lead Academic Partner: Sheila Hammer, MSW, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Social Work
Community Partner: Tanya “TJ” Riggs, BSHS, MAdm, Oncology Services Program Director, Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (TCRHCC) Specialty Care Center
Partner Website: Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation
Goal of Partnership: There is a critical need to understand how cancer impacts the psychosocial well-being of American Indians. This partnership seeks to identify key psychosocial health needs of American Indian patients with cancer at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation’s (TCRHCC) Specialty Care Center and explore how to address their unmet psychosocial needs through culturally adapted psychosocial support programs.
Building pathways for Gila River students in STEMM and health fields
NAU Lead Academic Partner: Naomi Lee, MS, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Community Partner: Navaz Dolasa, MD, Pediatrician, Gila River Health Care
Partner Website: Gila River Health Care
Goal of Partnership: While there has been progress in the numbers of Native Americans receiving bachelor’s and graduate degrees, their representation is much lower than for other minorities, particularly in science and engineering fields. This team is building a partnership that will support an educational pathway for Gila River students between the Elev8 Initiative at Gila River Health Care and the Cultural and Academic Research Program (CARE) at NAU. The partners’ long-term goal is to train the next generation of biomedical and health professionals that will address Gila River health disparities by expanding the number of Gila River students in STEMM and health fields.
Exploring diverse organizing approaches to engage immigrant and Chicano families in Northern Arizona
NAU Lead Academic Partners: Ernesto Mireles, MSW, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies
Leah Mundell, MA, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Anthropology and Sustainable Communities Program
Community Partner: Roxana Cardiel, BA, MA Sustainable Communities (expected 2025), Community Organizer, Northern Arizona Interfaith Council/Institutions for Community Leadership
Partner Website: Northern Arizona Interfaith Council/Institutions for Community Leadership
Goal of Partnership: Due to financial stress, fear of immigration enforcement, language barriers, challenges of technology access, and other hurdles, many immigrant and Latino families do not participate in community or civic organizations through which they can advocate for their health-related needs. This partnership will explore a long-term community organizing relationship between the Northern Arizona Institutions for Community Leadership and Ernesto Mireles’ wide range of organizing efforts to address health inequities facing immigrant and Chicano/Latino families in the Flagstaff community.
Advancing Health Equity Through Mountain Biking for Youth Development
NAU Lead Academic Partner: Katie Mommaerts, PhD, MSW, LCSW, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work
Community Partner: Stephanie Adams, Program Director, Flagstaff Youth Riders (FLYRS)
Partner Website: Flagstaff Youth Riders
Goal of Partnership: Positive youth development is influenced by a wide range of factors that are shaped by the relationship between youth and the environments in which they grow up. FLYRS is a nonprofit mountain biking organization that promotes positive youth development through outdoor physical activity. This team’s goal is to establish a formal collaboration as a foundation for future research examining the impact of mountain biking on the mental health and physical activity of youth.
Improving Health and Building Wealth through Financial Literacy
NAU Lead Academic Partners: Tristan Nighswander, MA, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting
Ibrahim Berrada, MA, PhD, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Sociology
Community Partner: Catherine Williams, AA, Community Resource Liason, Working Alternatives
Partner Website: Working Alternatives
Goal of Partnership: Many individuals who are incarcerated experience immediate health challenges (elevated stress, anxiety, poor sleep, etc.) that can lead to chronic conditions. As such, the overrepresentation of Native Americans in the criminal justice system is a significant public health concern. Additionally, individuals with lower financial wealth are more likely to experience recidivism and reincarceration. This partnership aims to explore opportunities for improving an existing financial literacy course that is tailored to the needs of Native Americans who are in the criminal justice system.
Addressing Health Equity Concerns for Indigenous People in Coconino County’s Criminal Justice System
NAU Lead Academic Partner: Travis Pinn, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Sciences
Community Partner: Corey Ringenberg, MBA, CPM, Special Initiatives Director, Coconino County Manager’s Office in association with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC)
Partner Website: Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
Goal of Partnership: This partnership aims to address the health disparities faced by Indigenous peoples within the criminal justice system of Coconino County. Indigenous individuals make up a small fraction of the population, but are significantly overrepresented in the county’s criminal justice system. This overrepresentation reflects broader systemic issues, including historical trauma, socioeconomic disparities, and unconscious biases that may be made worse by a lack of robust and culturally competent health services within the justice system. Working with key stakeholders in the community, the team will collaboratively explore and address these disparities by promoting health equity, cultural humility, and community-driven solutions.
Back to Community-Campus Partnership Support main page