Community Engagement
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Most of the EPRC’s activities are directly relevant to communities. In addition to conducting research and trainings on high priority topics like obesity and evidence-based approaches to chronic disease prevention, we offer small grants to community-based organizations. The EPRC has a broad range of community partners. We practice community-based participatory research in southwest Georgia and are guided by a Community Advisory Board comprising over 15 residents and local organizations.
Our Partners
The EPRC has a broad range of partners, from federally qualified health centers and United Way 2-1-1 Call Centers to other universities and public health agencies across the country. Almost all of our research is conducted through a participatory process with strong community engagement and we practice community-based participatory research with our partners in south Georgia. Although much of our work is focused in south Georgia, the EPRC also partners with organizations in metro Atlanta and around the state as well as across the U.S. and globally.
Horizons Community Solutions
The EPRC works closely with the Horizons Community Solutions of Albany. Staff partners at Horizons Community Solutions are often the face of the EPRC in South Georgia. Horizon’s mission is to prevent cancer and increase survival among the people of South Georgia through community-based research, outreach, screening and education – all done with compassion and in collaboration with others who are concerned about cancer. Horizons is made up of stakeholders representing diverse constituencies across a 30+county rural region that is comparatively disadvantaged in terms of socioeconomic status, and has a disproportionate burden of health risks.
Horizons (formerly Cancer Coalition of South Georgia) was formed in 2001, and soon after received a Georgia Cancer Coalition (GCC) planning grant. The planning grant supported an extensive planning process and led to the designation in 2003 as one of six GCC Regional Cancer Coalitions of Excellence.
United Way 2-1-1
2-1-1 is a nationally designated 3-digit telephone exchange, similar to 9-1-1 for emergencies or 4-1-1 for directory assistance, that links callers to community-based health and social services. 2-1-1 systems have the potential to reach millions of people nationally through active systems in every state. Callers to 2-1-1s are often poor and disproportionately. The majority of 2-1-1 callers are seeking help to meet basic needs such as assistance with rent, electricity, heat and food. Call centers are staffed by trained and nationally certified Information Specialists and operate in all major languages found locally.
United Way of Greater Atlanta 2-1-1 has been an essential partner on our signature intervention research projects, Smoke-Free Homes and Healthy Homes/Healthy Families. Key leadership and staff have participated on our Steering and Advisory Committees, being heavily engaged in all phases of our research. New 2-1-1 partners collaborating on the CDC funded core research project include United Way of Chattahoochee Valley, United Way of Central Georgia, and United Way of Southwest Georgia.
Helping Hands Ending Hunger
Helping Hands Ending Hunger (HHEH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2016 with a powerful mission: to combat childhood food insecurity, reduce school food waste, support academic success, and promote healthier communities. At the heart of HHEH is its innovative “Kids Helping Kids” program, which empowers student leaders to rescue uneaten food from school meals and redistribute it to families facing hunger. A central message of the program is that food is medicine, not waste.
Thanks to persistent advocacy and policy change efforts, HHEH now operates the only program in Georgia that has been formally reviewed and approved by both the Department of Public Health and the Department of Education/School Nutrition. This approval allows the safe recovery of cold-stored foods (such as milk, yogurt, cheese, and fruit), as well as packaged dry goods, and their redistribution to students during weekends and school breaks—when the need is often greatest.
As a nonprofit committed to rigorous food safety standards, HHEH eliminates liability concerns for food donors under both state and federal laws. Additionally, the program’s unique student-led model ensures that, once implemented, it requires minimal involvement from school staff and fits seamlessly into existing school routines.
Stakeholder Advisory Board for Translation
The Stakeholder Advisory Board for Translation guides the EPRC in the translation of research into practice. Development of actionable products, training and technical assistance (TA), and dissemination to potential adopters help to institutionalize research translation as a fundamental building block of the EPRC. Additional goals are guiding the scalability of EPRC’s research tested interventions, generating new research ideas and fostering bi-directional communication about research needs. The Stakeholder Advisory Board helps connect Emory researchers to state and community partners, particularly in rural areas. Members include representatives from state and local public health agencies, United Way agencies, regional cancer coalitions, American Cancer Society, cooperative extension, health systems, and others.
Community Advisory Board
The EPRC work in South Georgia operates through a Community Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB represents over 15 organizations and individuals in South Georgia who are committed to prevention research as a strategy for addressing the disproportionate impact of cancer and other chronic diseases in this region of the state. The CAB meets regularly to guide EPRC activities and establishes work groups to collaborate more intensively on specific initiatives or projects, such as identifying training priorities, selecting mini-grantees, or designing and pilot testing a survey.