Daphne C. Watkins

Background: Community-engaged research provides a strong framework for developing meaningful interventions that reflect the real and perceived needs of individuals and communities, help to address health disparities, and tackle complex health and social challenges. Objective: This paper presents an exemplar illustrating how using community-engaged research trust-building and sustained engagement can be cultivated from the ground up. It highlights practical strategies for developing effective community-academic partnerships and navigating inherent challenges, including tensions between traditional academic expectations and the relational and iterative nature. The exemplar demonstrates how these approaches can foster sustainable, community-directed change in the populations scholars serve. Methods: The exemplar describes key phases of building and sustaining relationships with community partners, guided by a community engagement model that emphasizes securing buy-in from community partners, academic institutions, and other organizational leadership. The methods also outline the process for establishing a community advisory board, with attention to outcome-focused planning, gathering affirming and iterative feedback, and supporting scholar reflexivity across all stages of the research process. Results: From the trust-building model, stakeholder and advisory board discussions highlighted successes, identified areas for improvement, and informed strategies for pilot adaptation, thereby strengthening collaboration between partners and enhancing intervention effectiveness. Conclusion: Authentic community engagement strengthens the rigor and relevance of research while also transforming scholars into facilitators of change and co-learners alongside community partners. Community-academic partnerships offer a powerful model for integrating research and practice, resulting in culturally sensitive, evidence-based programs that effectively address health disparities.

Black men attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs) face numerous challenges related to navigating racially and gendered hostile environments. These difficulties can lead to increased mental distress and negatively impact their experiences. Recent studies highlight the positive effects of creating supportive spaces within PWIs and the role of microaffirmations in enhancing the well-being of minoritized student populations. Using the rigorous and accelerated data reduction technique for qualitative analysis and guided by the microaffirmations framework, this study aimed to explore how Black male college students described and internalized microaffirmations and their relation to mental health experiences at a PWI. Data were collected from four focus groups conducted as part of an intervention program addressing the mental health pressures and social needs of young Black men, with 27 participants analyzed. Participants reported mental distress stemming from racism and microaggressions at their university. They expressed a desire for counterspaces dedicated to supporting Black men and microaffirmations that would enhance their sense of belonging, confidence, and mental well-being. Participants described experiences of microvalidations, microsupport, and microprotections that helped them navigate their negative experiences at the PWI. The findings underscore the importance of creating intentional counterspaces that empower Black men to connect, share, and validate their experiences. Microaffirmations in these spaces have a profound positive impact on their mental health and can be used to support Black male college students effectively. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The Washington State Department of Health developed an equitable funding allocation methodology incorporating quantitative and qualitative decision-making components. We describe the methodology and an implementation evaluation performed by an external evaluation team using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) evaluation framework. The evaluation team concluded that the methodology was developed in a way that used a racial equity lens and prioritized intersectionalities in the communities that the funding was intended to serve. ( Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S7):S575–S579. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307833 )

The ability to effectively utilize secondary data in mixed methods research is becoming increasingly important. This two-day workshop, led by Daphne C. Watkins, is designed to equip PhD students, professors, and professional researchers with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate this complex landscape. An official Instats certificate of completion is provided at the conclusion of the seminar.

This seminar will provide depth and breadth on developing well-refined and theoretically driven mixed methods studies. It also teaches participants how to use appropriate methods and instruments during mixed methods data collection, integration, and analysis. The content will be enhanced by an overview of both qualitative and quantitative methods, separately, then together, to examine how the strengths of one outweigh the weakness of the other. An official Instats certificate of completion is provided at the conclusion of the seminar. The seminar offers 2 ECTS Equivalent points for European Ph.D. students.

This seminar will provide depth and breadth on developing well-refined and theoretically driven mixed methods studies. It also teaches participants how to use appropriate methods and instruments during mixed methods data collection, integration, and analysis. The content will be enhanced by an overview of both qualitative and quantitative methods, separately, then together, to examine how the strengths of one outweigh the weakness of the other. An official Instats certificate of completion is provided at the conclusion of the seminar. The seminar offers 2 ECTS Equivalent points for European Ph.D. students.

Background: Racial disparities in access to advanced therapies for heart failure (HF) patients are well documented, although the reasons remain uncertain. We sought to determine the association of race on utilization of ventricular assist device (VAD) and transplant among patients with access to care at VAD centers and if patient preferences impact the effect. Methods: We performed an observational cohort study of ambulatory chronic systolic HF patients with high-risk features and no contraindication to VAD enrolled at 21 VAD centers and followed for 2 years in the REVIVAL study (Registry Evaluation of Vital Information for VADs in Ambulatory Life). We used competing events cause-specific proportional hazard methodology with multiple imputation for missing data. The primary outcomes were (1) VAD/transplant and (2) death. The exposures of interest included race (Black or White), additional demographics, captured social determinants of health, clinician-assessed HF severity, patient-reported quality of life, preference for VAD, and desire for therapies. Results: The study included 377 participants, of whom 100 (26.5%) identified as Black. VAD or transplant was performed in 11 (11%) Black and 62 (22%) White participants, although death occurred in 18 (18%) Black and 36 (13%) White participants. Black race was associated with reduced utilization of VAD and transplant (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.45 [95% CI, 0.23–0.85]) without an increase in death. Preferences for VAD or life-sustaining therapies were similar by race and did not explain racial disparities. Conclusions: Among patients receiving care by advanced HF cardiologists at VAD centers, there is less utilization of VAD and transplant for Black patients even after adjusting for HF severity, quality of life, and social determinants of health, despite similar care preferences. This residual inequity may be a consequence of structural racism and discrimination or provider bias impacting decision-making. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT01369407.