Developing an urban community-campus partnership: lessons learned in infrastructure development and communication.

BACKGROUND: A low-income, African American neighborhood in Miami, Florida, experiences health disparities including an excess burden of cancer. Many residents are disenfranchised from the healthcare system, and may not participate in cancer prevention and screening services.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to describe the development of a partnership between a university and this community and lessons learned in using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) model.

METHODS: To better understand the community's health behaviors and status, a randomized door-to-door survey was conducted in collaboration with a community partner.

LESSONS LEARNED: This collaboration helped foster a mutual understanding of the benefits of CBPR. We also describe challenges of adhering to study protocols, quality control, and sharing fiscal responsibility with organizations that do not have an established infrastructure.

CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the organizational dynamics of a community is necessary for developing a CBPR model that will be effective in that community. Once established, it can help to inform future collaborations.