Reaching the Underserved Through Community-Based Participatory Research and Service Learning: Description and Evaluation of a Unique Medical Student Training Program

Objectives: To provide an overview of the Community Health Fellowship Program (CHFP), describe the types of projects completed by the community health fellows from 2005 to 2009 and to assess the program's effectiveness from the perspective of fellows and community partners. Methods: We developed the CHFP for training medical students in community-based participatory research (CBPR), and understanding the components of successful community partnerships for addressing health disparities in underserved communities. The program has didactic and applied community research components. Results: From 2005 to 2009, fellows completed 25 research projects with 19 different community partners. Fellows reported favorable attitudes about the program, their mentors, and their community projects; their research knowledge increased significantly in most areas, especially their ability to develop a succinct research question, familiarity with CBPR, and delivering a formal research presentation (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, P