Division of Community Engagement & Health Equity

Within the Division of Community Engagement and Health Equity is the Community-Driven Initiatives program and its periodic Call for Ideas opportunity to collaborate with the medical school. The program seeks to support and implement health solutions proposed by and for residents of Austin and Central Texas, harnessing lived experiences and fresh perspectives to improve health locally through new ways of thinking.

The division and the Department of Population Health collaborate with the Community Strategy Team — an external advisory team of grassroots leaders, connectors and advocates — to reimagine and advance strategies that meet the health needs of underserved people in Austin and Central Texas.

Community engagement studios are structured forums designed to gain valuable patient and community insight on a research project. Unlike traditional focus groups that often take place at a single point in time with predefined questions and expectations, community engagement studios involve regular meetings and are led by research objectives and the active participation of community experts. The division uses community engagement studios to understand the health priorities of communities and identify the specific information, services and interactions that these communities need and prefer.

The division and Department of Population Health partner with Equidad ATX, Central Texas Food Bank, Central Health and others on the Live Well/Vive Bien initiative. Live Well/Vive Bien works to address social determinant health needs in medically underserved communities in Austin’s Eastern Crescent by bringing affordable and nutritious food, health care and other important services to these areas.

The initiative features a mobile health ecosystem comprised of a mobile grocery, health and financial wellness services. The Live Well/Vive Bien team facilitates community engagement and community co-design efforts by centering the voices of these communities in the design and evaluation of the initiative’s mobile health ecosystem.

The Promotores Outreach, Training and Engagement Hub, co-led by the Division of Global Health, aims to center the work of community health workers and promotores de salud through training, research, clinical integration and networking to serve communities with the greatest needs in Central Texas and beyond. The PromOTE Hub includes collaborations with community organizations, UT faculty and staff, advisors and other community health worker champions.

Through the Hub, community health workers and faculty conduct outreach, patient navigation, social needs assessments, health education and solidarity work. Community health workers serve in various settings, including hospitals, federally qualified health centers, mobile health centers and several community settings.

Currently, the hub uses the PromOTE platform (via FindHelp) to help people locate social services, get matched with individual needs and coordinate with other community organizations. The hub is also authorized by the Texas Department of State and Health Services to provide certified continuing education for community health workers across the state. READ MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS »

Originally launched in 2021 and held over five sessions, the division’s seminar series fosters an understanding of community-based participatory research and an interest in incorporating community engagement principles and practices into research projects and academic-community partnerships. Members of the community have the opportunity to engage with division faculty and staff on specific event topics.

The division’s speaker series addresses issues relating to population health, health equity and how to leverage community partnerships to address health equity. The series aims to enhance the coordination between community-based researchers and caregivers to promote culturally tailored, community-engaged approaches in partnership with all communities.