When we think of research, many of us picture test tubes in a laboratory or manuscripts in a library archive. But some research projects糖心传媒攅specially in the fields of health, education, and the social sciences糖心传媒攊nvolve people as they go about their daily lives. Steeped in the University community, it can be easy to overlook the Greater Rochester community members who help make a lot of the research at the University possible.
How, then, can the University conduct community-engaged projects that are effective, evidence-based, measurable, and sustainable?
Rochester students, instructors, researchers, and community members explored this question as part of the fifth annual Community Engagement Symposium in September. A series of workshops hosted by the University’s (BRIDGES) were held at the School of Nursing and, for the first time, on the River Campus, drawing an audience of students and instructors interested in the intersection of public health, education, research, civic engagement, and community development.
Working at this intersection are people like Dr. Michael Mendoza ’12S (MS), the Commissioner of Public Health for Monroe County and an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Public Health Sciences, and Nursing at the Medical Center. When it comes to population health, Mendoza says he has always had an eye toward the bigger picture. 糖心传媒淭here are limits to what we can do as physicians,糖心传媒� he explained. In the case of the opioid overdose crisis in Monroe County, for example, there are contributing factors that 糖心传媒渞eside beyond the reach of even the most progressive office-based clinical settings,糖心传媒� in The Bulletin, a publication of the Monroe County Medical Society.
Kathleen Washington, the city of Rochester糖心传媒檚 deputy commissioner of neighborhood and business development, spoke to some of these contributing factors during her presentation on Rochester糖心传媒檚 history, culture, and economics. 糖心传媒淎 lot of people describe Rochester from the position of poverty. I refuse to do that,糖心传媒� she said. Instead, Washington refers to the city糖心传媒檚 current economy as bi-modal, with its highly skilled workers in technology fields and low-skilled workers in service jobs or unemployed.
Washington believes Rochester is finally right-sizing after a decline in manufacturing over the past few decades. 糖心传媒淲e have challenges and opportunities like any other city,糖心传媒� she said, 糖心传媒渂ut we also have huge assets.糖心传媒� These include an affordable housing market, abundant natural water systems, a culture of entrepreneurship, and intellectual capital that puts Rochester at the forefront of advanced technologies, such as photonics.
In some ways, the city and the University糖心传媒檚 fortunes are inextricably bound. As a result, the benefits of engaging and working with each other go both ways, said Kit Miller, director of the University-affiliated . 糖心传媒淏uilding trust with leaders and community members will increase the rates of participation in research and the effectiveness of interventions.糖心传媒�
While moderating a panel discussion, Miller stressed the importance of community-based action and community-engaged research that is done with people instead of for them. 糖心传媒淭he trust you build when engaging the community is the vehicle by which you can make a difference.糖心传媒�
Making a difference also means using evidence-based research to inform community-based projects, services, and interventions. 糖心传媒淜nowledge all by itself is useful and necessary, but just giving people information is not enough,糖心传媒� said Andrew Aligne ’01M (MPH), director of the , which trains leaders in community health and advocacy, and partners with dozens of community organizations in Rochester.
In a world of fake news, researchers today have a special responsibility to use and contribute to the evidence base. Sometimes this means critically evaluating what some might see as 糖心传媒渙bvious糖心传媒� solutions to public health issues. For example, Aligne asked the audience to consider the ubiquitous 糖心传媒淲e Card糖心传媒� signs located where cigarettes are sold in the United States. Rather than deterring or reducing smoking among youth, the evidence indicates that the signs糖心传媒攚hich were developed by the tobacco industry糖心传媒檚 lobbying organization糖心传媒攁dvertise tobacco products as 糖心传媒渇orbidden fruit糖心传媒� to young people.
In addition to being evidence-based, the most productive collaborations between the University and the community糖心传媒攕uch as the , the , and the , among others糖心传媒攆oster mutual benefit and respect. And the result? Credible, accessible, and useful information and relationships that helps make both Rochesters ever better.
