What Is the UConn Pepper Center Recruitment and Community Engagement Core?

The UConn Pepper Center Recruitment and Community Engagement Core (RC1) provides expertise in the design and development of recruitment plans and implementation of multidisciplinary complex research projects involving older adults. These efforts address recruitment needs for clinical trials, community-based research and studies with a translational “bench to bedside” emphasis. The Core also partners with the UConn Health Disparities Institute to ensure research includes and asks questions relevant to communities of color and/or communities most vulnerable to adverse health effects, and to strengthen culturally sensitive approaches in all phases.

In addition to these recruitment and community outreach efforts, RC1 also provides regulatory services (e.g., IRB application support) and helps investigators with Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information grant sections and IRB protocol development.

Services

UConn Pepper Center Recruitment and Community Engagement Core (RC1) Services Include:

• Design and development of study recruitment and implementation protocols
• Recruiting study participants through the Research Volunteer Registry: 10,000 older adults who have either participated in prior studies or expressed interest in future research studies
• Implementing an individualized patient referral process through specific healthcare providers
• Utilizing insurance claim codes or medical records to identify eligible research participants
• Hosting community engagement activities
• Media planning/placement
• Assistance with regulatory compliance including IRB applications and monitoring

References and Other Training Materials

NIH Central Resource for Grants and Funding Information: Inclusion Across the Lifespan

NIH Inclusion Across The Lifespan Workshop

GSA Towards a Quantified Science of Engagement and Recruitment

Health Equity through Clinical Research — Meeting the Challenge of Inclusion

Intergenerational Influence of African American, Caribbean and Hispanic/Latino Adults Regarding Decision to Participate in Health-Related Research

Improving Public Health Requires Inclusion of Underrepresented Populations in Research

Inclusion of Older Adults in Research: Ensuring Relevance, Feasibility, and Rigor

Representative enrolment of older adults in clinical trials: the time is now

Principles of Precision Prevention Science for Improving Recruitment and Retention of Participants

Recommendations for using the 5Ts Framework to support research inclusion across the lifespan

Application

The success of the UConn Pepper Center relies on our ability to share our research, tools, and findings with other researchers, practitioners and the community. If you are interesting in learning more about how one or more of the cores can be of assistance.

View Application

Faculty & Staff Contacts

Core Manager
Lisa Kenyon-Pesce, M.P.H.
Clinical Research Associate
Email: kenyon-pesce@uchc.edu
Phone: 860-679-2305

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Core Staff
Deborah Noujaim, M.P.H.
Research Assistant
Email: dnoujaim@uchc.edu
Phone: 860-679-4271

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Core Staff
Alba Santiago, B.A.
Research Assistant
Email: santiago@uchc.edu
Phone: 860-679-3675

Faculty Advisor

Julie Robison, Ph.D.
Professor
Email: jrobison@uchc.edu
Phone: 860-679-4278

Julie Robison, Ph.D., is a professor at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Medicine of Medicine, where she is a core faculty member at the UConn Center on Aging. She holds academic appointments in the UConn School of Medicine’s Department of Medicine and Department of Public Health Sciences. Dr. Robison conducts evidence-based health services research and intervention studies focused on aging families and long-term services, supports and policy, with the goal of improving quality of life and quality of care for people who need long term services and supports (LTSS), and their families. The results of her work have direct impact on the implementation of policies and programs that serve extremely vulnerable populations in Connecticut and nationally. Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Aging, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Administration for Community Living, and the State of Connecticut. Dr. Robison is the director of the UConn Center on Aging’s Recruitment and Community Engagement Core and Evaluation and Population Assessment Core. Dr. Robison is also the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Applied Gerontology, an international forum for research with applicability to the health, care, and quality of life of older adults. Dr. Robison received her doctoral degree in human development and family studies from Cornell University and completed post-doctoral training in epidemiology of aging from the Yale University School of Medicine.