Community Engagement Core

Summary/Abstract
The Community Engagement Core (CEC) is an integral component of the Research and
Engagement on Adaptation for Climate and Health (REACH) initiative, a project of the
University of Washington’s Center for Health and Global Environment. The CEC aims to
address a recognized regional need for concerted action to protect health through the
development of new lines of engagement around adaptation-oriented research with UW
School of Medicine and its partners in the WWAMI region. The CEC seeks to increase
climate and health literacy through partnership building, needs assessment, research
translation and dissemination, and capacity building. In collaboration with Center
leadership, and supported by preliminary community engagement activities, the CEC
has identified 3 focus areas to increase climate and health resilience. The CEC
specifically aims to: (1) Develop new partnerships and identify and prioritize key climate
change & health-related adaptation and implementation needs; (2) Support research
translation and dissemination of REACH work; and (3) Build community engagement
capacity through methodological and training support of our Center cores’ activities.
Specific activities include the following: The convening an extreme heat stakeholder
symposium across the 5 participating WWAMI states; The establishment of a
Community Advisory Board to help prioritize and guide future CEC REACH activities;
the research translation and dissemination of Center work, including creating
user-based stories for REACH’s CHaRT tool; and the development of broader and
deeper community engagement among the project partners and the communities they
serve. The CEC acts as a methodological and translational resource for all the
associated cores. It supports both the research and implementation and evaluation
projects’ community engagement and science communication activities, while building
internal capacity to reach beyond existing partners. It is anticipated to broadly result in
improved adaptation and response to extreme heat events for WWAMI communities;
increased climate-health risk literacy among physician communities; and new
partnerships throughout the WWAMI network.

Grant Number: 5P20ES036748-02
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Tania Busch Isaksen