We work to improve the health and well-being of the residents of Boston's public housing, and thus reduce health disparities, by engaging residents in community-centered research programs and prevention activities.

Training and Education Core

The goal of the Training & Education Core (TEC) is: to build a collaborative, learning centered partnership that enhances housing residents' knowledge of health and disease prevention and to advance the Boston Housing Authority's capacity for health promotion and disease prevention.

      

The Training and Education Core creates curricula and trainings that are based upon needs assessments and builds on programs and projects that have been initiated by the Partners and disseminates project results through appropriate professional and community channels.

The curricula and training provides individual residents and population-based groups with knowledge, strategies, and skills that have the potential to increase participation in health-promoting activities including career and other educational opportunities.

One such program is the Resident Health Advocates (RHAs). The RHA training combines leadership and skill-building workshops with health education. Upon completion, program graduates are hired as paid interns by the Boston Housing Authority to provide fellow residents with information and resources about local health services. The Training and Education Core developed The Resident Health Advocate Tool Kit as a guide for other low-income and public housing communities interested in establishing similar programs. 

The Training and Education  Core also provides access for Masters in Public Health (MPH) students at BU's School of Public Health (BUSPH) Student Practicum opportunities as well as offer faculty in field practice and service learning that will increase the community's capacity for health promotion.

               The Partners in Health and Housing Prevention Research Center (PHH-PRC) at Boston University School of Public Health is a member of the Prevention Research Centers Program, supported by Cooperative Agreement Number RFA-DP-09-001from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its contents are those of the PHH-PRC and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

©Partners in Health & Housing Prevention Research Center -May 2010