[Description]

[Specific Aims]

[Team]

[Projects]

Community Outreach and Information Dissemination

The overall mission of the Community Outreach and Information Dissemination Core (COID) is to integrate Project CHOICE into Gadsden County and Roxbury communities to enhance existing community capacity, and strengthen as well as develop new partnerships for the conduct of community-based participatory research. The goal of the COID is to create linkages with community members to explore potential causes and consequences of chronic health conditions while developing sustainable strategies to resolve them.

To prepare our respective communities for the implementation of Project CHOICE, COID representatives will align with community leaders at all levels including public officials, church and other community leaders and residents whose views are respected by the community members. COID's early goals are to establish trust and credibility within the community and leave no doubt that project CHOICE will stay the course and, in partnership with our respective communities, create a healthier and empowered citizenry.

COID representatives will listen, and adjust to local folkways, be flexible and approachable and share decision-making with our respective community members. COID's outreach and information dissemination activities will include attendance at local community meetings, sponsorship of community health fairs and forums, visiting and speaking in local churches and involving community leaders. Community members and leaders who are respected and trusted such as health workers, clinic staff, church leaders and elders will help to insure that the design and implementation of COID strategies are culturally sensitive and relevant to the many hearts and souls of Gadsden County and Roxbury residents.

COID's mission will go far beyond "opening the gate" for Project CHOICE and its research and training activities. COID's outreach and information dissemination activities will be vital to insuring pathways for social transformation within our respective communities. Thru long-term partnerships with our respective community members and residents, the COID will help to guarantee that an informed, healthier, and cohesive community will be realized and future generations will be the beneficiaries.