Lorraine C. Taylor

Food insecurity in rural communities in the Southern US continues to grow, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, understanding population characteristics and varying community needs is critical to ensure that communities have sufficient access to stable food stocks needed to maintain health. Data are presented from a food insecurity survey administered in six counties in North Carolina, a state found in the southern United States. These data provide important information on the complexity of this serious health disparity issue. Eliminating food insecurity is an important strategy for reducing risk for chronic illnesses, mental health concerns, and other health problems among rural populations, particularly for Black and low-income rural communities which are more likely to be food insecure. Results indicate the need for family financial support to buy healthy foods as the key strategy for addressing food insecurity in these counties. Additional recommendations are discussed.

This paper details U.S. Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Community Engagement Cores (CECs): (1) unique and cross-cutting components, focus areas, specific aims, and target populations; and (2) approaches utilized to build or sustain trust towards community participation in research. A mixed-method data collection approach was employed for this cross-sectional study of current or previously funded RCMIs. A total of 18 of the 25 institutions spanning 13 U.S. states and territories participated. CEC specific aims were to support community engaged research (94%); to translate and disseminate research findings (88%); to develop partnerships (82%); and to build capacity around community research (71%). Four open-ended questions, qualitative analysis, and comparison of the categories led to the emergence of two supporting themes: (1) establishing trust between the community-academic collaborators and within the community and (2) building collaborative relationships. An overarching theme, building community together through trust and meaningful collaborations, emerged from the supporting themes and subthemes. The RCMI institutions and their CECs serve as models to circumvent the historical and current challenges to research in communities disproportionately affected by health disparities. Lessons learned from these cores may help other institutions who want to build community trust in and capacities for research that addresses community-related health concerns.

Reducing health disparities in rural communities of color remains a national concern. Efforts to reduce health disparities often center on community engagement, which is historically the strategy used to provide rural minority populations with support to access and utilize health information and services. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with their origins derived from social injustices and discrimination, are uniquely positioned to conduct this type of engagement. We present the “Research with Care” project, a long-standing positive working relationship between North Carolina Central University (NCCU) and rural Halifax County, North Carolina, demonstrating an effective campus–community partnership. The importance of readiness to implement Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) principles is underscored. As demonstrated by the NCCU–Halifax partnership, we recommend leveraging the positive associations of the HBCU brand identity as a method of building and sustaining meaningful relationships with rural Black communities. This underscores the role and value of HBCUs in the health disparities research arena and should be communicated and embraced.