Community Advisory Board

Overview

The Community Advisory Board (CAB) oversees and guides core projects with the HPRC. The CAB provides important links to the broader Boston and Massachusetts community, other states, and the National Community Committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Prevention Research Center (PRC) program. Members participate in strategic planning and project activities and assist with developing community-appropriate dissemination strategies.

CAB responsibilities have included:

  • Contributing to the HPRC’s Community Partners Meeting. Specifically, CAB members advise on the content of the meeting based on the interests and needs of various community members. Past meetings addressed screen time, sugar-sweetened beverages and water access in communities, schools, and work sites.
  • Engaging in strategic planning for the HPRC’s research agenda. This process will be guided by input received and ideas generated at the Community Partners Meeting.
  • Assisting in developing the structure and content of the Leaders in Health community training program. The goal of this program was to build the capacity of our community partners by providing staff with an introduction to the fundamentals of community-based participatory research, program planning, and evaluation.
  • Co-developing a community consultation service to foster reciprocity between the HPRC and our community partners. We currently offer one-on-one technical assistance and small group trainings to support planning, evaluation, communications, and grant writing activities focused on nutrition and physical activity topics.
  • Assisting in the development and dissemination of the Out of School Time Nutrition and Physical Activity (OSNAP). Members involved with out of school time programming, city and state agencies, and  local youth serving organizations, provided input on study design, identification and recruitment of out of school time programs and other collaborators, intervention materials, interpretation of results, and strategies for dissemination. Several organizations who have participated in the community committee over the years (the Boston Public Health Commission and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health) have worked directly with the HPRC to disseminate OSNAP through Boston’s REACH initiative and the state’s Mass in Motion Kids program.

Membership

Initial appointments are for two years and appointments will continue to be reconsidered on a two-year basis. Full meetings occur quarterly each year. Between meetings, CAB members have opportunities to get involved with specific PRC projects throughout the year.

Members


Last updated:  June 1, 2023