Translating the medical home into patient-centred language.

Background The patient-centred medical home (PCMH) is a healthcare delivery model that aims to make health care more effective and affordable and to curb the rise in episodic care resulting from increasing costs and sub-specialisation of health care. Although the PCMH model has been implemented in many different healthcare settings, little is known about the PCMH in rural or underserved settings. Further, less is known about patients' understanding of the PCMH and its effect on their care.

Testing to prevent colon cancer: how rural community members took on a community-based intervention.

Participatory research can elevate research relevance and effectiveness. The literature contains few first-hand descriptions of community members engaged in research. In 2003, the High Plains Research Network convened a Community Advisory Council (CAC) that quickly began providing input, feedback, innovation, and dissemination efforts.

Boot camp translation: a method for building a community of solution.

Objective: A crucial yet currently insufficient step in biomedical research is the translation of scientific, evidence-based guidelines and recommendations into constructs and language accessible to every-day patients. By building a community of solution that integrates primary care with public health and community-based organizations, evidence-based medical care can be translated into language and constructs accessible to community members and readily implemented to improve health.

Methods: Using a community-based participatory research approach, the High Plains Research Network (HPRN) and its Community Advisory Council developed a process to translate evidence into messages and dissemination methods to improve health in rural Colorado.

Carbonless footprints: promoting health and climate stabilization through active transportation.

Objective: Our objective was to describe how active transportation can help meet health and greenhouse gas emissions goals, and the ability of urban form strategies to impact both issues. In addition, we wanted to assess if there is an inverse relationship between active and motorized forms of travel.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of travel diary data was used to measure relationships among energy (kcal) burned from walking, energy (kcal) burned from motorized transportation, and the ratio of the two (the transport energy index) with regional accessibility and local walkability when adjusting for demographic factors.