"She Is Stand-Offish Like That": Black Adults' Recognition of Child Behaviors Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify the sociocultural factors in the Black community that contribute to a delay in identification of Black children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Methods: Four focus groups with parents of typically developing children were conducted at 2 Black Churches using a community-partnered participatory research approach and the socioecological model. Participants completed sociodemographic surveys, viewed CDC Autism Training Videos of Black children with ASD, and reported on their behavioral observations.

Community engagement to address the disparate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in California.

Objective: To describe the early activities and lessons of the Share, Trust, Organize, Partner -19 California Alliance (STOP COVID-19 CA), the California awardee of the NIH-funded multi-state Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) against COVID-19. The Alliance was established to ensure equity in Coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) research, clinical practice, and public health for communities most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Study Setting: The STOP COVID-19 CA Alliance network of 11 universities and affiliated partner community-based organizations (CBOs) across California.

A community-partnered approach for diversity in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials.

Introduction: Communities of color have faced disproportionate morbidity and mortality from COVID-19, coupled with historical underrepresentation in US clinical trials, creating challenges for equitable participation in developing and testing a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine.

Methods: To increase diversity, including racial and ethnic representation, in local Los Angeles County NIH-sponsored Phase 3 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine clinical trials, we used deliberative community engagement approaches to form a Community Consultant Panel (CCP) that partnered with trial research teams. Thirteen members were recruited, including expertise from essential workers, community-based and faith-based organizations, or leaders from racial and ethnic minority communities.

Reflections on the Importance of Community-Partnered Research Strategies for Health Equity in the Era of COVID-19.

Objective: In the face of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) physical distancing mandates, community-engaged research (CER) faces new vulnerabilities in the equitable inclusion of communities within research partnerships aiming to address these very inequities.

Methods: We convened a series of virtual meetings with our CER partnership to discuss the current state of activities and to identify considerations for remote community engagement. We outlined and expanded recommendations through iterative, partnered discussions to inform protections against new CER susceptibilities.

Factors associated with colorectal cancer screening in a peer-counseling intervention study in partnership with African American churches.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) mortality is 47% higher in African American men and 34% higher in African American women compared to non-Hispanic white men and women. This analysis assessed factors associated with CRC screening among 163 African American participants of a peer-counseling intervention study (2016-2018). In a one-group pre/post-test pilot study, trained Community Health Advisors (CHAs) at 9 African American churches in Los Angeles (LA) promoted CRC screening via one-on-one counseling, print materials and telephone reminder calls.

Facilitators and Challenges to Health Promotion in Black and Latino Churches.

Background: Churches are important assets for the African American and Latino communities. They can play a critical role in health promotion, especially in areas that are under-resourced and in which residents have limited access to health care. A better understanding of health promotion in churches is needed to support and maintain church collaborations and health initiatives that are integrated, data-driven, and culturally appropriate.

Community health advisors assessing adherence to national cancer screening guidelines among African Americans in South Los Angeles.

We partnered with African American churches in South Los Angeles (LA) and trained Community Health Advisors (CHAs) to assess cancer screening. The purpose of this analysis is to report adherence to national cancer screening guidelines among African Americans in South LA, to assess relationships between adherence to colorectal cancer and other cancer screening guidelines, and to explore regional differences in screening rates. Between 2016 and 2018, 44 CHAs surveyed 777 African Americans between 50 and 75 years of age.

Promoting Cancer Screening in Partnership With Health Ministries in 9 African American Churches in South Los Angeles: An Implementation Pilot Study.

Purpose And Objectives: We conducted a pilot study to assess the degree to which an intervention led by community health advisors (CHAs) to promote cancer screening was delivered as intended and to estimate the potential effect of the intervention on receipt of screening. In contrast to previous studies and to maximize its potential public health impact, the intervention targeted 4 screening tests and only participants who were not up to date with screening guidelines for at least 1 cancer. Because CHAs had to both determine baseline adherence and provide counseling on 4 screening tests, the protocol was complex.

Organizational readiness for wellness promotion - a survey of 100 African American church leaders in South Los Angeles.

Background: Churches are an important asset and a trusted resource in the African American community. We needed a better understanding of their readiness to engage in health promotion before launching a large-scale health promotion effort in partnership with South Los Angeles churches.

Methods: In 2017, we conducted surveys with leaders of 100 churches.

Cancer-related Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors within the Latino Faith Community in South Los Angeles.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to establish relationships with Latino churches in South Los Angeles and to collect data from parishioners regarding their access to care, cancer risk factors, and cancer-related knowledge, attitudes and screening.

Methods: In 2014, we approached five Latino churches. All allowed us to describe the study and to consent potential respondents at a designated time during the church service.

Training Community Health Advisors in African American Churches: Do Training Outcomes Predict Performance?

Programs that utilize Community Health Advisors (CHAs) to promote cancer screening are effective in community settings. However, predictors of CHA performance are not well understood. From 2016 to 2018, we partnered with 9 African American churches in South Los Angeles and trained 49 CHAs to promote cancer screening in an effort to build capacity for health promotion in a low-resource community.

Comparative Effectiveness of Coalitions Versus Technical Assistance for Depression Quality Improvement in Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions.

Significance: Prior research suggests that Community Engagement and Planning (CEP) for coalition support compared with Resources for Services (RS) for program technical assistance to implement depression quality improvement programs improves 6- and 12-month client mental-health related quality of life (MHRQL); however, effects for clients with multiple chronic medical conditions (MCC) are unknown.

Objective: To explore effectiveness of CEP vs RS in MCC and non-MCC subgroups.

Design: Secondary analyses of a cluster-randomized trial.

Initiating Dialogue in Community-Partnered Participatory Research to Address Obesity in South Los Angeles.

In South Los Angeles, a community-engaged research project on obesity was initiated between a translational research institute seeking to build community-based or partnered participatory research (CBPR/CPPR) capacity, and a community partner with extensive experience. This manuscript describes the partnership-building process and discusses results from a bi-directional knowledge transfer event.

Comparative Effectiveness of Two Models of Depression Services Quality Improvement in Health and Community Sectors.

Objective: The effectiveness of community coalition building and program technical assistance was compared in implementation of collaborative care for depression among health care and community sector clients.

Methods: In under-resourced communities, within 93 programs randomly assigned to coalition building (Community Engagement and Planning) or program technical assistance (Resources for Services) models, 1,018 clients completed surveys at baseline and at six, 12, or 36 months. Regression analysis was used to estimate intervention effects and intervention-by-sector interaction effects on depression, mental health-related quality of life, and community-prioritized outcomes and on services use.

A Community-Partnered, Participatory, Cluster-Randomized Study of Depression Care Quality Improvement: Three-Year Outcomes.

Objective: Community Partners in Care, a community-partnered, cluster-randomized trial with depressed clients from 93 Los Angeles health and community programs, examined the added value of a community coalition approach (Community Engagement and Planning [CEP]) versus individual program technical assistance (Resources for Services [RS]) for implementing depression quality improvement in underserved communities. CEP was more effective than RS in improving mental health-related quality of life, reducing behavioral health hospitalizations, and shifting services toward community-based programs at six months. At 12 months, continued evidence of improvement was found.

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Depression Care of African Americans and Hispanics in Los Angeles.

Objective: This study examined use of depression care provided by faith-based organizations (FBOs) by African Americans and Hispanics and factors associated with the receipt of such care, including mental illness severity and use of traditional mental health services.

Methods: The study used baseline data from the Community Partners in Care study, a group-randomized trial comparing a community-partnered approach with a technical-assistance approach to improving depression care in underresourced communities in Los Angeles. A sample of 947 individuals (48% African American, 27% non-U.

The Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative: Rationale and Design.

Objective: To describe the design and rationale of the Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative (HCNI), a multi-component study to understand and document health risk and resources in a low-income and minority community.

Design: A community-partnered participatory research project.

Setting: A low-income, biethnic African American and Latino neighborhood in South Los Angeles.

Strategies to Build Trust and Recruit African American and Latino Community Residents for Health Research: A Cohort Study.

Background: This study used Community Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR) to address low participation of racial and ethnic minorities in medical research and the lack of trust between underrepresented communities and researchers.

Methods: Using a community and academic partnership in July 2012, residents of a South Los Angeles neighborhood were exposed to research recruitment strategies: referral by word-of-mouth, community agencies, direct marketing, and extant study participants.

Results: Among 258 community members exposed to recruitment strategies, 79.

The Los Angeles Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative: A Ten Year Experience in Building and Sustaining a Successful Community-Academic Partnership.

Background: Developing effective Community-Academic Partnerships (CAPs) is challenging, and the steps to build and sustain them have not been well documented. This paper describes efforts to form and sustain the Healthy Community Neighborhood Initiative (HCNI), a CAP to improve health in a low-income community in South Los Angeles.

Methods: Moderated, semi-structured discussions with HCNI community and academic partners were used to develop a framework for CAP formation.

Community Partners in Care (CPIC): Video Summary of Rationale, Study Approach / Implementation, and Client 6-month Outcomes.

"Community Partners in Care (CPIC): Video Summary of Rationale, Study Approach / Implementation, and Client 6-month Outcomes" is a 2 minute, 46 second video summarizing the study rationale, study approach, and the 6-month outcomes. The video was produced by four agencies: Healthy African American Families II, a health advocacy organization in South Los Angeles; Behavioral Health Services, the largest substance/alcohol abuse service provider in LA County; UCLA; and RAND Health; contract filmmakers Eileen Cabiling and Joe Mango handled cinematography, editing, and video support. The individuals appearing in the video are key CPIC community and academic partners.

A community partnered-participatory research approach to reduce cancer disparities in South Los Angeles.

Background: Community-academic partnerships may offer opportunities to improve population health in communities that suffer from cancer-related health disparities.

Objectives: This project describes a community partnered effort to promote cancer research and reduce local cancer-related disparities.

Methods: We used a community-partnered participatory research (CPPR) model and modified Delphi method approach to bring together community and academic stakeholders from South Los Angeles around reducing cancer disparities.

One Hundred Intentional Acts of Kindness toward a Pregnant Woman: building reproductive social capital in Los Angeles.

This article describes the development of an innovative community-based program, One Hundred Intentional Acts of Kindness toward a Pregnant Woman (100 Acts), which seeks to increase reproductive social capital for pregnant women in south and central Los Angeles communities. Reproductive social capital includes features such as networks, norms, and social trust that facilitate optimal reproductive health within a community. 100 Acts was designed and developed by the Healthy African American Families project, using community participatory methods, to increase local community and social network support for pregnant women.

Work through the valley: do.

Much of the work for a community-partnered participatory research (CPPR) initiative is done in committees that operate under the principles of CPPR and the vision of the partnership, while implementing the action plans of the initiative. Action plans are developed in work group meetings and sponsored events that engage the community in discussion about programs or new policy directions. This article provides detailed recommendations for conducting meetings, completing assignments, and running events as the main body of work.

Work through the valley: plan.

This first of three chapters on the Valley stage, or main work of a Community-Partnered Participatory Research (CPPR) initiative, concerns the planning phase of the work cycle. The main goal of this phase is to develop an action plan, which clarifies the goals, methods, responsible individuals, and timeline for doing the work. Further, this chapter reviews approaches, such as creativity and use of humor, that help level the playing field and assure community co-leadership with academic partners in developing effective action plans.