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<p><span>In line with the mission of the college that supports service-learning and community engagement, the nursing program sought to create meaningful learning experiences for students that also benefited the community. To achieve this vision, the nursing department formed community&ndash;campus partnerships with four ethnically diverse underserved neighborhoods in Grand Rapids (Burton Heights neighborhood, Baxter/Madison neighborhood, Creston/Belknap neighborhood, and Heartside neighborhood). Each partnership was founded on a commitment to the key elements of community based participatory research (Israel et al., 2003).</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span> </span><span>Focus on the community as a unit</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Build on community strengths and resources</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Encourage collaborative participation in each step of the research process</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Foster co-learning among all partners and build community capacity</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Provide a balance between research and action</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Address public health concerns that are important to the local community and consider multiple determinants of health</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Engage in systems development through a recurring process</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Collaborate on disseminating findings to all partners</span></li>
<li><span> </span><span>Be willing to commit long-term to the process</span></li>
</ul>
<p>In 2002, the community campus partnership team initiated the CBPR process by designing and implementing a community assessment consisting of focus groups and surveys for each neighborhood.&nbsp; This community assessment has been repeated every 7 years to listen to the voice of the community, drive nursing student learning experiences, help community and academic partners conduct program planning, and to evaluate impact of the partnership. Community assessments were completed for Burton Heights neighborhood in 2002, 2009 and 2016; Baxter/Madison neighborhood in 2003, 2010 and 2017; Creston/Belknap neighborhood in 2004, 2011, and 2018; and Heartside neighborhood in 2014.</p>
<h4>Researcher</h4>
<p><strong>Principle Investigator:</strong> Gail Zandee, Associate Professor of Nursing</p>
<h4>Research Team Members -Current & Past</h4>
<ul>
<li>Barbara Timmermans, Associate Professor of Nursing</li>
<li>Debra Bossenbroek, previous Assistant Professor of Nursing</li>
<li>Suzan Couzens, previous Assistant Professor of Nursing</li>
<li>Beth Gordon, previous Assistant Professor of Nursing</li>
<li>Gail Heffner, director of Community Engagement</li>
<li>Dianne Slager, previous Assistant Professor of Nursing</li>
</ul>
<h4>Current & Past Research Assistants</h4>
<ul>
<li>Gabriela Guzman, Community Health Worker in Burton Heights neighborhood</li>
<li>Laurel Machiele, nursing student</li>
<li>Sarah Slotsema, nursing student</li>
<li>Diana Serio, nursing student</li>
<li>Lindsay Clutter, nursing student</li>
<li>Andrea Lima, nursing student &nbsp;</p>
</ul>
<h3>Press</h3>
<ul>
<li>Israel, B.A., Schulz, A.J., Parker, E.A., Becker, A.B., Allen, A., &amp; Guzman, J.R. (2003). Critical issues in developing and following community based participatory research principles. In M. Minkler &amp; N. Wallerstein (Eds.), Community-based participatory research for health; pp. 53-76. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.</li>
</ul>

<h4>Community Based Participatory Research was utilized to develop and sustain these partnerships and drive community-based / community-focused nursing student learning experiences across the curriculum.</h4></p>
<p>In 2002-2004, the nursing department and community partners completed a community assessment within each neighborhood. Results of the community assessment were shared with each neighborhood and residents identified access to health care as the top health concern for their neighborhood.&nbsp; When neighborhood residents were asked to identify a strategy to address this top health concern, the solution agreed upon by the community was the creation of a Community Health Worker (CHW) program where lay people from each neighborhood would be hired and trained as CHW's to work with nursing students during their practicum experience promoting health and access to care.&nbsp; A pilot of this program was initiated in one neighborhood in 2004 with funding from a Community Outreach Partnership Center grant from the Department of Housing and Urban development.</p>
<p>Between 2005-2007, the program was&nbsp;expanded to the other neighborhoods and researched for program effectiveness with funding from Spectrum Health Healthier Communities Department.&nbsp; Two articles have been published demonstrating the positive impact of the program on both the health of the community and learning for nursing students.&nbsp;
</p>The CHW program continues today and has been incorporated into several other research projects within the neighborhoods such as the Women Supporting Women program and the PREKNOP program.&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Researcher</h4>
<p><strong>Principle Investigator:</strong> Gail Zandee &ndash; Associate Professor of Nursing and Community Parternship Coordinator</p>
<h4>Research Team</h4>
Debra Bossenbroek, previous Assistant Professor of Nursing&nbsp;</p>
<h4>Research Assistants</h4>
Meghan Friesen, nursing student</br>
Kari Blech, nursing student</br>
Ruth Engbers, nursing student</br>
<p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>