Community Engagement and Learning at an Academic Medical Center: Maintaining Community-Academic Partnerships during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities. 8000 York Road, Towson, MD 21252. Tel: 410-704-3700; Fax: 410-704-2152; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.cumuonline.org

N

13

COVID-19; Pandemics; Access to Health Care; Barriers; Community Education; Health Education; Learning Activities; Community Needs; Participatory Research; In Person Learning; Distance Education; School Community Relationship; Partnerships in Education; Medical Schools

1047-8485

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the health disparities plaguing our communities are highlighted more than ever. Community-based learning (CBL) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) provide a highly relevant framework in addressing health problems, especially those related to the Social Determinants of Health (AHRQ, 2020). Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the team at the Community Health Division (CHD) within the Family Medicine Department of Georgetown University School of Medicine (GUSOM) maintained and deepened relationships with community partners through engagement activities, which not only actively addressed community needs but also acted as an educational tool for a growing number of interdisciplinary students. This paper explores the effectiveness of CBL and CBPR as a framework, even when presented with challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. It further underscores how students at Georgetown University have become more intimately involved in community health engagement during the pandemic. This serves as an encouraging model for establishing a student-based research learning community.

As Provided

2023

EJ1360824