NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center Approach | NYU Langone Health

About the NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center Approach

NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center Approach

The NYU-CUNY Prevention Research Center (NYU-CUNY PRC), a partnership between NYU Langone and the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, focuses on addressing the leading causes of poor health and knits together multiple complementary frameworks:

A horizontal infographic displays six interconnected circles representing key areas of a health equity research framework. From left to right, the circles are labeled: SDOH and Health Equity, Community Engagement and Participatory Approaches, Cultural Adaptation, Systems Science, Implementation Science, and Digital Equity. Above or below each circle are brief descriptions. For SDOH and Health Equity: monitors community-level social determinants of health, modifies SDOH through multi-level community-clinical linkages, and addresses varying contexts at multiple levels and domains of influence. For Community Engagement and Participatory Approaches: integrates input from community advisory boards in all phases and promotes local expertise and trusted community messengers such as community health workers. For Cultural Adaptation: centers community knowledge and expertise to inform research development that is meaningful and accessible to diverse communities. For Systems Science: examines sustainability and scalability of evidence-based interventions and supports collective impact processes. For Implementation Science: identifies barriers and facilitators of intervention adoption and maintenance of type 2 diabetes evidence-based strategies, and informs dissemination and sustainability of best practices through stakeholder engagement. For Digital Equity: leverages technological innovations to support uptake and scale-up of community-clinical linkage evidence-based interventions. Wavy lines visually connect all six circles to emphasize integration.
The NYU-CUNY PRC uses a connected approach to improving health equity through community engagement, cultural relevance, systems thinking, practical implementation, and digital access.

Community Health Worker Model

Several NYU-CUNY PRC initiatives promote the community health worker (CHW) model to build capacity and leadership in diverse communities.

Role of Community Health Workers

CHWs are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the community they serve. They are known by a variety of job titles, including outreach workers, community aides, community health advisors or representatives, promotores(as) de salud, and lay health workers.

This close relationship allows CHWs to be a bridge between health and social services and the community, facilitating access to services and improving the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. CHWs also build individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through activities ranging from outreach, community education, and informal counseling to social support and advocacy.

CHWs take on multiple roles in the healthcare system:

  • bringing in individuals unfamiliar to the healthcare system
  • providing linkages and social support
  • overcoming distrust
  • contributing to better patient–provider communication
  • providing patient and community education and counseling
  • monitoring health status of individuals and assuring adherence to medical care regimens

The use of CHWs is a cost-effective and asset-based approach for improving community health and wellbeing.

NYU-CUNY PRC’s research on CHW effectiveness is cited as part of the evidence base for the latest guidelines in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Community Preventive Guide and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Innovations Exchange recommending the deployment of CHWs within healthcare teams to support cardiovascular disease and diabetes prevention and management efforts.

Pathway to Practice logo

Pathway to Practice

The Pathway to Practice (P2P) Resource Center is a one-stop, easy-to-navigate website that features tools and resources produced by CDC-funded PRC research projects. Community organizations and public health practitioners can tailor these resources to identify, replicate, and use key aspects of successful public health programs and inspire others to expand the uptake and use of evidence-based interventions.

The P2P Resource Center supports the CDC PRC Program’s mission to increase population health impact by accelerating the translation, dissemination, and implementation of evidence-based public health research that helps advance health equity by addressing chronic disease prevention priorities among communities.

References

  1. Kwon SC … Islam NS. Implementing health promotion activities using community-engaged approaches in Asian American faith-based organizations in New York City and New Jersey. Transl Behav Med. 2017. DOI.
  2. Glasgow RE, Vogt TM, Boles SM. Evaluating the public health impact of health promotion interventions: The RE-AIM framework. Am J Public Health. 1999. DOI.
  3. Damschroder LJ … Lowery JC. Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: A consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implement Sci. 2009. DOI.
  4. Feinberg A … Thorpe LE. A cohort review approach evaluating community health worker programs in New York City, 2015-2017. Prev Chronic Dis. 2019. DOI.
  5. Lopez PM … Thorpe LE. A place-based community health worker program: Feasibility and early outcomes, New York City, 2015. Am J Prev Med. 2017. DOI.
  6. Islam NS … Chau TS. Evaluation of a community health worker pilot intervention to improve diabetes management in Bangladeshi immigrants with type 2 diabetes in New York City. Diabetes Educ. 2013. DOI.
  7. Islam NS … Chau TS. A randomized-controlled, pilot intervention on diabetes prevention and healthy lifestyles in the New York City Korean community. J Community Health. 2013. DOI.
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