The “Community Voices on Genetics and Health Disparities” project was a community-engaged study that assessed knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes about genetics, genetic research, and health inequalities among underserved communities in Cleveland. It was carried out between 2010 and 2012 by faculty and staff in the Department of Bioethics at Case Western Reserve University. Patricia Marshall, Ph.D., and Aaron Goldenberg, Ph.D., M.P.H., served as the PI and Co-I of the project, respectively.
The project had two aims:
1) To attain greater understanding into the knowledge, beliefs, and experiences related to translational genomics research and health disparities in underserved and minority communities.
2) To collaborate with local, regional, and national partners in study design and implementation and develop innovative methods for disseminating study results to underserved and minority communities.
In partial fulfillment of the second aim, a photo documentary project was completed with community members.
To date, project results have been presented locally, regionally, and nationally. In addition, results were published in academic journals:
Morello, L, P Marshall, C Hartmann, S Brooks, K Colón-Zimmermann, A Goldenberg. 2017. Photo-documentation in the community: Reflections on genetics, health, and health disparities. International Journal of Epidemiology. 46(2), 385-89.
Hartmann, C, P Marshall, A Goldenberg. 2015. Is there a space for place in family history assessment? Underserved community views on the impact of neighborhood factors on health and prevention. The Journal of Primary Prevention. 36(2), 119-30. DOI: 10.1007/s10935-015-0384-5
Goldenberg, A, C Hartmann, L Morello, S Brooks, K Zimmermann , P Marshall. 2013. Gene-environment interactions and health inequalities: Views of underserved communities. Journal of Community Genetics, 4(4), 425-34.
Chris Hartmann 