Nicolette Teufel-Shone, associate director of the Center for Health Equity Research and co-lead for the Southwest Health Equity Research Collaborative, recently collaborated with researchers from 18 of the 25 Research Centers for Minority Institutions (RCMI) in the US to publish Community Engagement Practices at Research Institutions: Priority Populations and Innovative Approaches to Advancing Health Disparities Research.
Through the study, the researchers found that due to their extensive work with underserved and vulnerable communities, RCMIs are important models on how to bypass “historical and current challenges to research in communities disproportionately affected by health disparities.” The publication describes their critical work in creating long-term, collaborative community relationships.