University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

CO-CEAL: Colorado Community Engagement Alliance Against Health Disparities

What is CEAL?

NIH CEAL

In the United States, COVID-19 has taken its toll on almost every community. But some groups — especially African Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, immigrants and Native Americans — have suffered more than others. The Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against Health Disparities is a national network of community-engaged researchers, community-based organizations, government officials and public health experts working to reduce the burden of the disease on those who are hardest hit by it. Funding for CEAL comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

CO-CEAL: Colorado Community Engagement Alliance Against Health Disparities

The Colorado Community Engagement Alliance Against Health Disparities Team (CO-CEAL) is a partnership between the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Servicios de la Raza, the Trailhead Institute, and dozens of trusted local community members. Our mission is to provide trustworthy information through active community engagement and outreach to the people most impacted by health disparities while building long-lasting community partnerships to improve diversity and inclusion in health research. We currently work with the following communities: Urban Latina/o/x community in Pueblo and Metro Denver, Rural Latina/o/x community in the San Luis Valley, Urban Black/African American community in Metro Denver, Rural African Immigrant community in Ft. Morgan and Greeley, and the American Indian/Alaska Native community in Metro Denver. Funding for CEAL comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

iHeard

As part of CO-CEAL, we are working to understand and address the spread of health information in communities by conducting weekly surveys of community members in participating regions. This initiative, iHeard Colorado, helps to build knowledge in communities about the health-related topics being surveyed.

Establish partnerships

within the community

Address misinformation

within communities of color

Grow an understanding

and trust in science

Accelerate the uptake

of beneficial treatments

Through our Community Engagement Alliance, we aim to:

Make available the best, most accurate information about the spread of COVID-19 and other chronic conditions, about recruitment and participation in clinical studies, about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and treatments and about any concerns that may come from false rumors
Increase the use of preventive practices that can reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other chronic conditions, especially in underserved communities, while offering timely access to proven new treatments
Increase the public’s understanding of how science works—specifically, the medical research process and how treatments and vaccines are developed
Understand and address the spread of health information in communities through iHeard Colorado

CO-CEAL Program Aims

Assess current and ongoing levels of misinformation and concerns regarding all vaccines and therapeutics in disproportionately impacted racial and ethnic communities
Evaluate effectiveness of community-specific messaging and materials delivered through trusted channels to address vaccine barriers for adults and children in disproportionately impacted racial and ethnic communities
Understand CCTSI-CE partner network connections to the most vulnerable populations across the state, including gaps/weaknesses
Create a community Clinical Trials Advisory Board to enhance collaboration between community based organizations and clinical trial study teams and to provide consultation with trial teams on community engagement

CO-CEAL Focus Communities

Community	Location
Rural Latino/a/x	San Luis Valley
Urban Latino/a/x	Denver/Pueblo
Urban Black/African American	Denver Metro
Rural African Immigrant	Morgan/Weld Counties
Urban American Indian/Alaska Native	Denver Metro

CO-CEAL Project Activities

Cohort study with community-level interventions and a repeated cross-sectional survey at the individual level to evaluate the impact of messaging, including questions from the NIH CEAL Common Survey.
Intervene with proven Boot Camp Translation methods to translate information about COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics and other chronic conditions into culturally sensitive messaging and materials, using trusted community partners as communication channels for these messages and materials on COVID-19 vaccines, their safety and efficacy
Assess the reach of efforts into target communities using Social Network Analysis
Create a Community Clinical Trials Advisory Board to establish linkages between those conducting trials and communities, providing ready access to partnerships with community members who can inform recruitment methods and materials
Incorporate RADx-UP Common Data Elements (CDEs) and RADx-UP Phase I Findings into the REDCap Survey tool

CO-CEAL

The Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities is a national network of community-engaged researchers, community-based organizations, government officials and public health experts working to reduce the burden of the disease on those who are hardest hit by it. Funding for CEAL comes from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Who We Are

The Community Clinical Trials Advisory Board (CCTAB) is composed of researchers, community members, and academicians.

Mission Statement

Through authentic, equitable, and informed engagement, we strive to create an experience between communities and researchers that increases the diversity of participants in clinical research with the ultimate goal of improving research relevance for all communities.

Vision

We envision a research community that is inclusive of diverse participants, staff, investigators and partners that reflect the needs and disparities of the State of Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region.

Objectives

To advance health literacy related to community participation in clinical trials by providing education to community and cultural competence to researchers.
To strengthen the protection of, respect for, and empowerment of participants in clinical trials
To improve the relevance and quality of clinical research and its usefulness to communities
To ensure that research questions reflect a major concern of community members as well as offering realistic solutions to these questions
To enhance the relevance and application of research data by all participants
To value the different skills, knowledge and experience of community members and researchers to address complex problems

Boot Camp Translation (BCT), or sometimes called “Community Translation,” leverages the expertise of community members to translate dense scientific evidence and guidelines into messages, campaigns and materials that are locally relevant. Groups create materials that call local community members to action to promote a specific topic, and in the case of CO-CEAL, specifically with COVID-19 vaccination.

Generally, BCT has evolved from its beginning as an effort to include the High Plains Research Network’s Community Advisory Council in a project to increase screening rates for colon cancer, into what is now a standardized, proven process that has been replicated within many communities and throughout many projects in Colorado and across the country.

The BCT process typically lasts between six and nine months, and includes a series of in-person and phone meetings. With the need to get relevant and accurate COVID-19 vaccine information out to communities across Colorado that are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, this CO-CEAL effort is using a “rapid” BCT (rBCT) model. The rBCT model will take place in five communities and will guide participants through the entire BCT process in an eight-week period, completely virtually. Groups will work with trained BCT facilitators, community connectors, medical experts and graphic designers to produce high quality materials that present the messages and information to the particular communities and are distributed in local venues.

Boot Camp Translation: A Method for Building a Community of Solution

Testing to Prevent Colon Cancer: How Rural Community Members Took on a Community-Based Intervention

Reinventing The Wheel Of Medical Evidence: How The Boot Camp Translation Process Is Making Gains

A Community Engagement Method to Design Patient Engagement Materials for Cardiovascular Health