Rural Community Engagement for Health Disparities Research: The Unique Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Taylor, Lorraine C.; Watkins, Charity S.; Chesterton, Hannah; Kimbro, K. Sean; Gerald, Ruby

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.