Community-based researchers and academic leaders came together to share their research interests, surprises, hopes, and inspirations at the first Community Health Research Forum, held March 2 at UW-Stevens Point.

The forum was hosted by Community Health Connections (formerly known as Health Extension Program), a program of the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR).

It was designed to provide an informal, creative environment for sparking conversations and collaborations in community-based translational research.

The forum attracted 90 attendees, including researchers and their community partners from northern and northeastern Wisconsin, ICTR leaders, and UW-Madison and Marshfield Clinic faculty.

A Day of Conversation

Following a welcome to by John Frey, MD, UW ICTR's director of community engagement, and UW Stevens Point Chancellor Linda Bunnell, the forum began with a showcase of four specific research projects—each of which varied in size, scope, location, collaborators, and funding source. Those projects were:

• The GROW Project (PIs: Bill Wright, UW Extension, Brown County; Laura Rowell, MA, RD, Green Bay School District Food Services)
• Reality Check 21 (PIs: Jennifer Eddy, MD, UW Department of Family Medicine, Eau Claire campus; Pamela Radcliffe, Eau Claire City/County Health Department)
• The Heartwatch Study (PI: Laura Coleman, RD, PhD, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation)
• Remote Assessment of Communication Ability in Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury (PIs: Lyn Turkstra, MD, UW-Madison Department of Communicative Disorders; Maura Quinn-Padron, MS, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation)

Forum attendees were provided an abstract booklet, so the presenters could "focus on the passion behind their work, and not just the details of the methods, data and findings of their research," said Nancy Cross Dunham, PhD, research director for Community Health Connections.

"We wanted presenters to talk about their work differently," Dunham said. "For example, what excites them about their project? What surprises or challenges did they encounter? What are their hopes and aspirations for how their research outcomes might lead to community health improvement or changes in clinical practice?"

In the afternoon, attendees then rotated through four rounds of 20-minute "conversation cafés." Each of the 20 cafés offered a different research topic and host; attendees could choose the ones that best matched their interests.

Laughingly comparing them to "speed dating," Dunham said the conversation cafés further encouraged creative conversations among researchers, their community partners, and other participants. "It was a great, informal way to learn about what each researcher was doing, and ask questions about it," she said.

Throughout the day, attendees also visited resource tables that highlighted the research support programs and services available from UW-Madison.

Taking Home New Ideas, New Collaborations

The concept of engagement was a theme throughout the entire day. In between sessions, and at the end of the day, attendees were given opportunities to do just that: connect, reflect, and share their thoughts on the ideas presented at the forum.

Afterwards, Community Health Connections transformed participants' notes into "wordles"—"word clouds" that graphically represent ideas—and has since shared them with attendees.

Terry Cohn, research specialist for Community Health Connections, said it was clear that participants enjoyed meeting others engaged in community-based research from around the state, learning about projects they didn't know existed, and forging potential future collaborations. "It's hard to explain in words the level of energy that was in the room," she said. "The participants shared a lot—to the point where they didn't want to stop for breaks."

And attendees' evaluation comments back her up. One participant wrote, "I made so many valuable connections and was exposed to such a wealth of knowledge via this forum that I took multiple new ideas away."

Another wrote, "I have already followed up on potential research collaborations, and connected a colleague with the [project name] staff." And yet another wrote, simply, "Please continue to do the annual forums."

Fortunately, that's part of the plan. Community Health Connections is planning its second community health research forum for this fall in Milwaukee, in partnership with the Center for Urban Population Health and UW-Milwaukee, and intends to hold more events like this in the future.

About Community Health Connections

Launched in early 2008, Community Health Connections' vision is to be a leader in forging new models of two-way communication, knowledge development, and exchange for translational research.

Its mission is to build and sustain a platform to promote ideas and projects that will influence the Type 2 translational and community-based research being done at UW-Madison and across the state. It will accomplish this through:

• Regional research councils;
• Regional research coordinators;
• Matchmaking and facilitation of research ideas and projects; and
• Community health research forums.

In Appreciation

Community Health Connections thanks the UW ICTR Community Academic Partnerships Core and the UW-Stevens Point School of Health Promotion and Human Development for co-sponsoring the forum. It also thanks the following Department of Family Medicine faculty for presenting their research at the forum:

• Jennifer Eddy, MD
• Mark Gideonsen, MD
• Sarah Khan, MPH, PhD
• Tara LaRowe, PhD
• Paul Smith, MD