Project MATCHE:  Mentored-Approach to Training in Community Health Evaluation

 

 

Recent research indicates that understanding determinants of complex health problems such as HIV increases if perspectives of community members, agency staff and researchers are consulted.  When these varying stakeholders’ strengths can be harnessed to collaboratively identify preparedness to adapt HIV-related, evidence-based interventions, programming will best match the community’s needs and likely lead to decreased infection.  Working with the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center (LESHRC), this study uses the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model as a methodological framework to address three goals: 1)    Equitably involve the strengths, decision-making and ownership of stakeholders such as community members, organizational representatives, and researchers in the program evaluation process; 2)    Equip agency representatives and other stakeholders with skills necessary to utilize this model for future internal organizational research and evaluation; and 3)    Through mentoring, train 7 (4 undergraduate, 2 doctoral) pre-professional CUNY student research fellows (RFs) in applied health research and program evaluation.

 

Funding Source:  Office of the CUNY Dean for Health & Human Services
Co-Principal Investigator:  Susan Letteney, DSW, LCSW
Co-Principal Investigator:  Nicholas A. Grosskopf, EdD, MCHES

Partnering Agency:  Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center, Inc.
Status:  Funding Over--Data Collection & Analysis​