Developing an Infrastructure to Cultivate Equitable and Sustainable Community-Academic Research Partnerships: Meharry Community Engagement Core.

OBJECTIVES Achieving health equity and reducing racial and ethnic health disparities require intentional community engagement efforts by academicians. Primary among these efforts is the acknowledgement of research-related mistrust. Efforts to build trust must begin with recognition of the invaluable knowledge and experience community stakeholders possess. METHODS The Meharry Community Engagement Core builds on the foundation provided by Meharry Medical College, a Historically Black College and University, to achieve its mission to improve health and health outcomes through long-term collaborative research partnerships with community stakeholders. Early in its development, the Core actively engaged community stakeholders throughout all research phases. RESULTS Early successes include achieving community feedback on research priorities, policies, and procedures and developing partnerships that span the research spectrum. Core work to date is promising and may serve as a model for addressing research-related mistrust and efforts to build trust.