Community Outreach and Information Dissemination
African American Health Promotion Campaign (AAHPC)
The AAHPC was initially funded in 2001 by The Pittsburgh Foundation, with support from the Heinz Endowments. The campaign goals are:
- To analyze, package and disseminate public health and medical research findings to the black community through collaborations with organizations and individuals.
- To build the capacity of local organizations, churches and groups to initiate health promotion and disease prevention activities in the black community.
- To translate scientific knowledge about health promotion and disease prevention into steps people can use in their everyday lives.
- To disseminate research findings through the media and other sources to raise the visibility and credibility of an expanded view of health.
The AAHPC laid the foundation for CMH health promotion and disease prevention activities and evolved into the Healthy Black Family Project TM (HBFP) – the actionable component of the campaign. While the HBFP was created specifically to prevent and control diabetes and hypertension in African Americans, it also provides the mechanism for information dissemination and for integrating all of our other health disparity priority areas and Research Core activities, focusing on risk reduction and not on specific disease.
Health Advocates In Reach (HAIR) TM
The idea of health education in barber shops and beauty salons stems from years of qualitative, community-based participatory research and the idea that trusted community members such as barbers and beauticians are good vehicles for disseminating accurate, evidence-based health promotion messages, especially relating to preventable diseases.
The HAIR project focuses on public health ‘in the house’. CMH community health education in barber shops/beauty salons began in September of 2002, the CMH kicked off its first health education project in three local barber shops during Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day, a national effort to promote health and wellness in the African American community. The CMH version of this national initiative is to “Take a Health Professional to the People” and health professionals provide health screenings and education in the barber shops. The project is implemented in partnership with nine (9) shops and salons and includes the involvement of over 100 health professionals, many of whom have work in partnership with the shops to provide on-going health and wellness activities. These activities take health professionals to the ‘people’. Contact: Mario Browne
The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Information Service
The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Nation’s lead agency for cancer research, established the Cancer Information Service (CIS) in 1975 to educate people about cancer prevention, risk factors, early detection, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and research. The CIS office for Western Pennsylvania is located at the Center for Minority Health. The CIS offers information about cancer through its telephone service (1-800-4-CANCER) and by working in communities to provide residents with the latest and most accurate information about cancer.
NCI's Cancer Information Service at the CMH serves as a valuable resource to all Healthy Black Family Project TM participants by, partnering with other University cancer prevention and management programs to provide monthly educational workshops. The CIS also disseminates cancer information throughout the CMH health promotion and disease prevention network and works closely with the investigators of the EXPORT Cancer Core. Contact: Lora Ann Bray
Community Research Advisory Board: CRAB
In 2001, the Center for Minority Health established a Community Research Advisory Board (CRAB). The CRAB was established in response to community demands for better communication between academic researchers, local health care providers and the African American community and the genuine desire of many research investigators to be more inclusive in their research planning and design as well as building their cultural confidence. The CRAB, composed of opinion leaders from the local African American community and University of Pittsburgh academicians, is co-chaired by Dr. Jeannette South-Paul, chair the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Stephen Thomas, director of CMH and provides consultation on research conducted at the University of Pittsburgh.
CRAB members serve as conduit for community outreach and information dissemination and they participate in various activities organized by the Community Core, including helping to design and implement a series of educational community meetings focusing on research, informed consent, and research participation.
Research Project Review Guidelines 
Contact: Angela Ford
Diversity Reception: Valuing Diversity in the Health Sciences
The COID Core works closely with the GSPH Minority Student Organization and other minority focused academic organizations throughout the Schools of the Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. To support the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in the health science schools, the CMH and the School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs and Diversity hosts an annual networking reception in late September. The reception theme is ‘Valuing Diversity in the Health Sciences’ and provides an opportunity for students of color to meet and network with each other, underrepresented faculty throughout the City, and other interested faculty leadership in the health sciences. This forum promotes opportunities for mentorship, professional development and collaboration. Contact: Angela Ford
Health Promotion Sunday
Health Promotion Sunday (HPS) takes place in partnership with the Urban League of Pittsburgh and the Metro Urban Institute. Churches are identified to host ‘Health Promotion Sunday’ during National Minority Health Month. Church leadership are asked to include a message about health promotion and disease prevention as part of their sermon, and after the service, the congregation participates in a health fair, which includes: blood pressure checks, stroke analysis, and other basic assessments of risk factors for disease. Health promotion organizations also provide information about healthy eating, physical activity, screenings, prevention and early detection.
The COID Core also helps to get the word out about health promotion activities taking place in other faith communities throughout the year. Contact: Mario Browne
National Minority Health Leadership Summit
Hosted by the Center for Minority Health, the first Summit in 2001 was co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Office of Disease Prevention and had as its theme: Mapping a Course for Community Action and Research. The 2002 Summit centered on the theme: The Impact of Discrimination on Health Status; and the 2003 Summit theme was The Role of Community Participatory Research. In 2004, the Summit focused on the Role of Health Communication in the Prevention and Management of Disease; and 2005 was Race, Genes and the Environment. In 2006, the CMH is the academic co-sponsor for the Office of Minority Health Minority Health Summit.
Minority health leaders, scholars, and consumers, from around the United States have convened in Pittsburgh for the local two-day summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities – each year focusing on a different and unique theme. Primary local funders are The Maurice Falk Fund, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and The Heinz Endowment and the VA of Pittsburgh Center for Research on Health Care. Federal sponsors include the NIH National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, Region III. Contact: Angela Ford
Pennsylvania Tobacco Prevention Clearinghouse Website and Resource Library (web site)
The Tobacco Prevention Clearinghouse is a collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Health Department, and the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA. The purpose of the clearinghouse is to provide statewide technical assistance in program planning and evaluation for community-based efforts to reduce exposure to tobacco smoke pollution (including tobacco control, smoking prevention and minority health), building the capacity of community-based organizations to collect and analyze data, conduct asset and needs assessments, write fundable intervention proposals and evaluate program effectiveness. The CMH has initiated a comprehensive tobacco control program to communities in the Commonwealth of PA consistent with the State Health Improvement Plan, and in cooperation with the local State Health Improvement Partnerships (SHIPs).
The Clearinghouse is intended to enhance linkages to state and local health departments, improve the competitiveness of grant proposals, and provide training and technical assistance to tobacco prevention and control contractors and service providers. Contact: Dr. Craig Fryer
Personal Stories in the New Pittsburgh Courier
‘Personal Stories’ based on interviews with local African Americans appear in the New Pittsburgh Courier - a local newspaper targeting the African American community. Stories focus on a particular health issue, describing how the individual discovered the health condition, their health beliefs about it, and how they attempt to manage the condition. The stories are positive and inspiring, and they educate the readers about risks, prevention, survival and resources. The Courier is the forum through which personal stories are publicized related to the Healthy Black Family Project TM.
The Courier also provides a mechanism for information dissemination related to research and participates as an important partner for both the Health Communication Campaign and the Healthy Black Family Project TM. Contact: Angela Ford
