The Forsyth County Healthy Living Collaborative (FCHL Collaborative) is a partnership among Wake Forest University Health Sciences (WFUHS), Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment (CHANGE), the Forsyth County Department of Public Health (FCDPH), the YWCA Winston-Salem, and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods (NBN). The goals of the FCHL Collaborative is to build the infrastructure needed to successfully implement community-linked health science research in Forsyth County, North Carolina, by expanding the capacity of community organizations to participate in clinical and translational research and the capacity of WFUHS investigators to collaborate competently with community organizations. Based in the Community Engagement and Implementation Program of the WFUHS Translational Science Institute, the FCHL Collaborative is transformative and has the potential to ensure equity, future capacity, and sustainability for clinical and translational research for healthy living through achieving four specific aims: (1) implement programs that build, sustain, and expand the capacity of community organizations and agencies to participate in health science research addressing healthy living;(2) implement programs that expand the commitment and capacity of WFUHS investigators to engage community organizations and agencies to participate in health science research on healthy living;(3) support the development and implementation of community-linked research to document the current status of healthy living, and the economic, social, and physical barriers to healthy living in Forsyth County;and (4) establish a framework to sustain this collaboration for community-linked health science research. Based on conceptual and operational models of community-linked research, the FCHL Collaborative has developed a framework for bi-directional communication between WFUHS and its community partners. This bi-directional communication uses a set of practices for in-reach and outreach. The research infrastructure will include programs within skill development, program consultation, and community research functions. The long-term commitment of the Translational Science Institute to community-linked research for healthy living ensures the sustainability of this program.

PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The Forsyth County Healthy Living Collaborative is a partnership among Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Communities Helping All Neighbors Gain Empowerment, the Forsyth County Department of Public Health, the YWCA Winston-Salem, and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods. The FCHL Collaborative is transformative and has the potential to ensure equity, future capacity, and sustainability for clinical and translational research for healthy living.

RC4HL104866

2010-09-01

2013-08-31