The Engagement & Representation Domain advances a health-for-all approach
- By strengthening community engagement and broadening community engaged research practices to support clinical and translational research, the domain improves access to care and opportunity for all populations.
- By fostering trust, transparency, and culturally appropriate dissemination of knowledge, the domain enhances relevance, uptake, and rigor of scientific discoveries.
- These efforts ensure that research is more representative, and responsive leading to improved health outcomes for all.
Projects:
AME Zion HEAL Partnerships
The AME Zion Health Equity Advocates & Liaisons (HEAL) partnership aims to improve health in the African American community and is designed to build trust and collaboration to address disparities and increase engagement in clinical research.AME Zion churches in North Carolina serve as partners, co-learners, and advisers to Duke to ensure that clinical research participation accurately reflects the communities of North Carolina. Through combined resources and expertise, the program aims to foster trust, transparency, and relationships among researchers, community, and clergy, the goal of broadening participation and strengthening community involvement in clinical research. The AME Zion HEAL partnership is part of the CTSI.
Community Engagement Domain works closely with a group of AME Zion faith leaders who are trained research advisors that may be able to help you to gain further insight on developing community-engaged research projects.
Community Consultation Studios (CCS)
Community Consultation Studios (CCS) promote and support community-engaged health research at Duke. Community Engagement Advisors (CEAs) are members of our communities who bring their own life experiences to the research process, working with study teams to improve the way health research is done at Duke.
As of April 30, 2026, 89 CCS sessions have been completed. Among respondents, 93.2% of community members and 100% of researchers agreed that they were satisfied with CCS. In addition, 79% of community members said they would be more likely to participate in research, and 100% of researchers said they would refer a colleague to a CCS.- Community Sessions
Community Sessions bring Duke researchers and community members together to identify shared priorities and shape research and engagement efforts from the ground up. Grounded in the Listen, Learn, Plan, Act model ensuring that the community voice not just researcher priorities drive community research. The Engagement & Representation (E&R) domain leads this work, connecting community input directly to outreach, recruitment, and language access efforts. - AI Health & Community Engagement
This initiative connects Duke's AI Health research with the communities it aims to serve, building outreach materials and engagement strategies in partnership with the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI). The work ensures AI-driven health innovations are developed with community input and remain accessible, trustworthy, and relevant to the populations they're designed to benefit. - Duke Health Clinical Research Enterprise Expansion (DHCREE)
The Duke Health Clinical Research Enterprise Expansion (DHCREE), formerly known as "Discovery to Practice," is a strategic initiative designed to extend the reach of clinical trials and medical studies across the broader Duke Health system. By providing dedicated clinical research infrastructure, the program empowers investigators to seamlessly expand existing studies or initiate new ones at Duke Regional Hospital and Duke Raleigh Hospital, outside of the central Durham campus. - Language Access in Research