Using a Clinical Outreach Project to Foster a Community-Engaged Research Partnership With Somali Families

Background: Community-engaged research partnerships build the capacity of community and educational organizations to work together toward addressing important health issues and disparities for vulnerable populations, such as refugees or immigrants. A critical step for building a community-engaged research partnership is the first contact or entre into the community. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe how a successful home health community-engaged partnership became the entre and foundation for a community-engaged research partnership to explore the home health needs of Somali older adults and their families. Methods: A number of strategies were used to engage the Somali community, initially in a clinical home health project and subsequently in an academic research study. Lessons Learned: Valuable lessons were learned on delivering home health care (HHC) services to Somali older adults and their families as well as conducting research with this population. The most important lesson was that none of the work could be done without the involvement of the Somali community. The partnership described is one of the first to address the home health needs and experiences of Somali older adults and their families. The project illustrates a mutually beneficial relationship that can occur when a community-engaged clinical project expanded to address an issue of importance to the community through research. Conclusions: This foundation served to create an opportunity for more comprehensive community academic partnerships with the potential to improve the delivery of HHC to Somali older adults, as well as open avenues for research in other areas that are relevant to the Somali, medical, and academic communities.