Community Partnerships in Research Program

Year 5 Awardees

Joint Pilot Grant Awards

A Qualitative Study to Support Community-Centered Design of Short-Term Respite Childcare Models for Parents of Color in Recovery

Partnership: Yuan He, MD, from CHOP’S Division of General Pediatrics will partner with April Lee from Philly Voice for Change, alongside collaborators from Maternity Care Coalition, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Unity Recovery, Gaudenzia, Caring Together at Drexel, and Jefferson’s MATER program  

Project description: This team plans to conduct a qualitative study to better understand how access to short-term childcare impacts recovery and treatment engagement for parents of color with substance abuse disorders. 

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Operationalization of a Donor Human Milk Program Using On-Site Pasteurization at Princess Marina Hospital in Botswana 

Partnership: Jonathan Strysko, MD, MSc, IBCLC, from CHOP’s Division of General Pediatrics will partner with Kaone Ranyere, SACLC, from the Botswana-University of Pennsylvania Partnership and Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, Botswana 

Project Description: This team plans to pilot Botswana’s first donor human milk program using a low-cost, on-site pasteurization approach to improve access to safe donor milk for hospitalized infants. This award is sponsored in partnership with the CHOP Global Health Center and the Melissa Ketunuti Endowment. 

Philadelphia Youth Narcan Education (PYNE) Initiative 

Partnership: Samara Jinks-Chang, MD, MPH, MS, from CHOP’s Division of Adolescent Medicine will partner with Kendra McDow, MD, MPH, from the School District of Philadelphia, alongside collaborators from Penn’s Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and Stanford REACH Lab 

Project Description: The team plans to develop and evaluate a youth-centered naloxone education initiative for middle and high school students across Philadelphia.  

Partnership Development Awards

Pediatric Emergency Airway Readiness & Learning (PEARL-AIR) for Community Emergency Departments 

Partnership: Jeremy Jones, MD, from CHOP’s Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and the ExPERT program will partner with Monica Costello, MSN, RN, CEN, from Holy Redeemer Hospital; Megan Stobart-Gallagher, DO, from Einstein Montgomery Hospital; Jill Matusiak, MSN, RN, CEN, and Jason Burgess, MSN, RNC-NIC, from Virtua Mount Holly Hospital; Lisa Winchester, PhD, RN, CEN, NPD-BC, and Alfred Sacchetti, MD, from Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital; and Sherri Campbell, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN, from Chester County Hospital 

Project Description: This team plans to partner with community emergency departments across the Philadelphia region to better understand and improve pediatric airway readiness in non-children’s hospitals, where most children receive emergency care.  

Building a Community-Academic Partnership to Improve Youth Mental Health Care Transitions 

Partnership: Priyanka Joshi, MD, MSHP, and Polina Krass, MD, MSHP, from CHOP’s Division of Emergency Medicine and PolicyLab will partner with Leigh Wilson-Hall, MSW, and Aaron Truchil, MSSP, from the Camden Coalition 

Project Description: This team plans to develop a community-academic partnership to explore and adapt mental health care navigation models for youth in New Jersey.  

Designing a Civic-Science Media Model for Rural Pennsylvania Families 

Partnership: Jennifer Whittaker from PolicyLab and CHOP’s Qualitative Research Core will partner with Sarah Rafacz from Spotlight PA 

Project Description: The team plans to develop and test a civic-science media partnership focused on documenting how rural Pennsylvania families navigate changes to health insurance and social safety net policies. This award is sponsored in partnership with the Health Equity Research Methods (HERMeS) Initiative, which aims to advance health equity research and translation across CHOP and CHOP Research Institute. 

Indigenous Health Unit Community Research Advisory 

Partnership: Elizabeth Sanseau, MD, and Chermiqua Tsosie from CHOP’s Indigenous Health Unit will partner with Cornelia Dimalanta from the Native American House Alliance (NAHA) 

Project description: The team plans to establish an Indigenous Community Research Advisory Board to guide pediatric health care research focused on American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children and families in Pennsylvania. This award is sponsored in partnership with CHOP's Office of Community Impact (OCI). Through strategic partnerships with community organizations, schools, government agencies and families, OCI develops and supports programs that promote health equity, improve access to resources, and strengthen communities. 

Year 4 Awardees

Partnership Development Award

Improving Neonatal Outcomes at Nyangabgwe Hospital, Francistown, Botswana

 

Partnership: Sarah Maclean, MD, CHOP pediatrician will partner with Unangoni Bulawayo, MD at Nyangabgwe Hospital, Francistown, Botswana.

Project Description: This project focuses on understanding the factors associated with neonatal mortality at a hospital in Botswana. This award is PolicyLab's first CPIR award to a CHOP physician and an international partner.

Year 3 Awardees

Joint Pilot Grant Awards

Addressing the Needs of the Local Spanish-Speaking Autism Community


Partnership: Kate Wallis, MD, MPH, from PolicyLab and CHOP’s Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics will partner with Yovana Bustamante from Posibilidades Infinitas

Project description: The team will conduct a community needs assessment and then action the development of accessible, Spanish-language educational materials. This award is sponsored in partnership with CHOP’s Clinical and Translational Research Award (CTSA) program. The mission of CHOP's CTSA is to provide resources, environment, operations, and training to support and promote high-quality clinical and translational research by qualified investigators.

Empowering the Next Generation: Evaluating the Impacts of a Community-based Student Teaching Program on Young Leaders and Their Communities


Partnership: Hillary Kapa, MPH, from CHOP’s Center for Injury Research & Prevention and Stephanie Garcia, MPH, from PolicyLab and CHOP’s Center for Injury Research & Prevention will partner with Matthew Kerr and Christopher Thornton from Beyond the Bars

Project description: The team plans to conduct an evaluation of an established youth leadership development program, Beyond the Bars Student Teacher Program, which serves as a student-led music enrichment program for middle and high school students aimed to interrupt cycles of violence and combat disinvestment in Philadelphia. This award is sponsored in partnership with the Health Equity Research Methods (HERMes) Initiative, which aims to advance health equity research and translation across CHOP and CHOP Research Institute.

Voices from SisterSong: Reproductive Justice and Severe Fetal Conditions in Communities of Color


Partnership: Abigail Wilpers, PhD, from PolicyLab and CHOP’s Neonatology Health Services Research Lab will partner with Simran Singh Jain from SisterSong, The Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective

Project description: The team will use focus groups to understand health care experiences of individuals of color who have experienced a pregnancy complicated by a severe fetal condition and will disseminate findings in a multimedia exhibition to guide reflection and action. This award is sponsored by the Health Equity Research Methods (HERMes) Initiative, which aims to advance health equity research and translation across CHOP and CHOP Research Institute.

Partnership Development Award

Supporting Engagement in Perinatal Supports for Pregnant Individuals with SUD


Partnership: Yuan He, MD, MPH, MSHP, from PolicyLab and CHOP’s Department of Pediatrics will partner with Colette Green, MSS, from Maternity Care Coalition 

Project description: The team will work to identify facilitators and barriers to service and resource linkages for families impacted by substance use disorder (SUD) in Philadelphia through the development of a community advisory board of stakeholders who serve birthing parent-infant dyads impacted by perinatal SUD. This award is sponsored by the CHOP Cancer Center Diversity Committee.

Year 2 Awardees

Joint Pilot Grant Awards

Building Communication Strategies Among Black Fathers and Their Youth: A Pilot Study to Develop and Disseminate Strength-based Parent-Teen Resources


Partnership: Jillian Lucas Baker, DrPH, EdM, from CHOP’s Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine’s Center for Parent and Teen Communication, and Joel Austin from Daddy University Inc.

Project description: The team plans to examine the barriers and facilitators for Black fathers’ communication with their teens (ages 12-17) about coping strategies for discrimination, racism, and mental health needs via focus groups and survey administration. They will then use these findings to develop and test the effectiveness of a parenting intervention for Black fathers in Philadelphia.

Adaptation of the Students Talking About Relationships (STAR) Curriculum for LGBTQI Youth


Partnership: Marné Castillo, PhD, MEd, and Bevin Gwiazdowski, MSW, PolicyLab members from CHOP’s Adolescent Initiative and the Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine, and Sydney Rolle-Stern, MPH, from the Lutheran Settlement House

Project description: The team seeks to address interpersonal violence among LGBTQI adolescents and young adults through the application of the ADAPT framework to modify and test the evidence-based intervention, Students Talking About Relationships, using implementation and qualitative research methods. This award is sponsored in partnership with the CHOP Clinical and Translational Research Award (CTSA) program. The mission of the CHOP CTSA is to provide resources, environment, operations, and training to support and promote high-quality clinical and translational research.

A Multimodal Approach to Exploring the Adultification of Black Girls and the Building of Community-Centered Dissemination of Findings


Partnership: Daniela Brissett, MD, and Nadia Dowshen, MD, MSHP, PolicyLab members from CHOP’s Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine, and Tawanna Jones, EdD, from we R.E.I.G.N: Rooting, Empowering, and Inspiring a Girl’s Nation

Project description: The team aims to understand the impact of adultification on the medical and mental health outcomes of adolescents in an urban setting. More specifically, they will gather youth and their families' perspectives utilizing semi-structured qualitative interviews and innovative qualitative arts-based methods, such as photo-elicitation exercises, to identify the current experiences and potential solutions.

Partnership Development Award

Community Guided Development of an Interprofessional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Equity Champion Team and Bias Mitigation Strategies


Partnership: Diana Montoya-Williams, MD, MSHP, PolicyLab member from CHOP’s Division of Neonatology, and Jenné Johns, MPH, from Once Upon a Preemie, Inc.

Project description: The team aims to form a community- and family-engaged, interdisciplinary team of ‘NICU Equity Champions’ who will collaboratively build a multi-institutional research agenda focused on mitigating the impact of implicit bias and racism in the CHOP and Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania NICUs.

Year 1 Awardees

Joint Pilot Grant Awards

Defining and Implementing Trauma-Informed Approaches: Bridging the Academic-Community Divide to Support Community-based, Youth Serving Programs


Partnership: Rachel Myers, PhD, MS, from the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) at CHOP and the Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) at CHOP, and Ronna Kassel from Christian Street YMCA

Project description: The team will support, implement, sustain, and evaluate the impact of trauma-informed approaches within 16 branches of the Greater Philadelphia YMCA. Overall, this project will specifically address how to create competence and confidence among program staff to deliver community-based programming in trauma-informed ways.

Partnership Development Awards

Strengthening Partnerships to Elevate Home Visiting Community Voice


Partnership: Tara Dechert, MS, from PolicyLab, and Shukriyyah Mitchell, BSN, RN, from the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium

Project description: The team will build a parent and family advisory council that would ensure the community of home-visited clients’ voices are incorporated in all implementation efforts including recruitment and outreach efforts, and research and quality improvement. From this work, their goal is to develop pathways that can be replicated across systems and organizations to allow clients and the home visiting community to lead and partake in future research and decision-making processes.

A Multimodal Approach to Exploring the Adultification of Black Girls and its Impact on Medical and Mental Health Outcomes


Partnership: Daniela Brissett, MD, and Nadia Dowshen, MD, MSHP, PolicyLab members from the Craig Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine at CHOP, and Tawanna Jones, EdD, from we R.E.I.G.N.: Rooting, Empowering, and Inspiring a Girl’s Nation

Project description: The team will explore, through personal narratives, the lived experiences of adolescent youth who identify as Black and female aged 13-25. They hope this project will create a better understanding of how Black girls respond to institutional stereotypes but also to examine existing resilience skills used in their everyday lives.

A Collaborative Approach to Building a Menstrual Hygiene Product Distribution Site Within a Pediatric Hospital-based Food Pharmacy


Partnership: Shelby Davies, MD, PolicyLab member from the Craig-Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine at CHOP, and Lynette Medley, MEd, from No More Secrets Mind Body Spirit (MBS) Inc. and the SPOT Period

Project description: The team will create a research partnership infrastructure between CHOP’s Division of Adolescent Medicine at CHOP, The Food Pharmacy at CHOP, and No More Secrets MBS Inc. and The SPOT Period. This first-of-its-kind partnership will aim to better understand the relationship between food insecurity and period poverty as a means for developing a menstrual product distribution program within a food pharmacy, which is a food bank and education center aiming to reduce hunger and improve health by making nutritious foods readily available to patients and their families.

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