The Morehouse Model: How One School of Medicine Revolutionized Community Engagement and Health Equity

by Ronald L. Braithwaite, Tabia Henry Akintobi, Daniel S. Blumenthal, W. Mary Langley, Valerie Montgomery Rice (Foreword by)

Overview

How can the example of Morehouse School of Medicine help other health-oriented universities create ideal collaborations between faculty and community-based organizations?

Among the 154 medical schools in the United States, Morehouse School of Medicine stands out for its formidable success in improving its surrounding communities. Over its history, Morehouse has become known as an institution committed to community engagement with an interest in closing the health equity gap between people of color and the white majority population. In The Morehouse Model, Ronald L. Braithwaite and his coauthors reveal the lessons learned over the decades since the school's founding—lessons that other medical schools and health systems will be eager to learn in the hope of replicating Morehouse's success.

Describing the philosophical, cultural, and contextual grounding of the Morehouse Model, they give concrete examples of it in action before explaining how to foster the collaboration between community-based organizations and university faculty that is essential to making this model of care and research work. Arguing that establishing ongoing collaborative projects requires genuineness, transparency, and trust from everyone involved, the authors offer a theory of citizen participation as a critical element for facilitating behavioral change. Drawing on case studies, exploratory research, surveys, interventions, and secondary analysis, they extrapolate lessons to advance the field of community-based participatory research alongside community health.

Written by well-respected leaders in the effort to reduce health inequities, The Morehouse Model is rooted in social action and social justice constructs. It will be a touchstone for anyone conducting community-based participatory research, as well as any institution that wants to have a positive effect on its local community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421438047
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	06/16/2020
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.95(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Ronald L. Braithwaite, PhD is a professor of community health and preventive medicine and a professor of family medicine and psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH is a professor of community health and preventive medicine, the director of the Prevention Research Center, and the associate dean of community engagement at Morehouse School of Medicine. She is the coauthor of The Morehouse Model: How One School of Medicine Revolutionized Community Engagement and Health Equity.

Daniel S. Blumenthal, MD, MPH (1942–2019) was professor emeritus of community health and preventive medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine.

W. Mary Langley, PhD, MPH is a professor of community health and preventive medicine and the director of the Health Promotion Resource Center at Morehouse School of Medicine.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Foreword, by Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD
Preface
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1. Introduction to the Morehouse School of Medicine Model
Chapter 2. Social Accountability, Medical Education, and Public Health
Chapter 3. Community-Based Participatory Research
Chapter 4. Evolution of the Morehouse Model for Community Engagement
Chapter 5. Engaging Micropolitan and Rural Communities in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Chapter 6. Educational and Leadership Development—for Communities, by Communities: The Strategic Engagement of Community Health Workers
Chapter 7. The Medical School of Tomorrow
Afterword
Appendixes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Meredith Minkler

This book is itself revolutionary in documenting and sharing one pioneering medical school's dramatic contributions to changing the way physicians, public health professionals, community members and policymakers understand what primary care and community engagement for health equity and social justice really look like—and how transformative they can be. Drawing on myriad theory-based case studies and interventions from the local through global levels, Braithwaite and his colleagues powerfully illustrate how partnering with often disenfranchised urban and rural communities can assist residents in gaining control over their lives, while dramatically improving the processes and outcomes of social justice-focused health equity research. During these perilous times, the widely respected 'Morehouse Model,' and this book sharing its story and its lessons for us all, are gifts of singular importance to 'getting it right' as we move into the uncharted territory ahead.

Elliott E. Tolbert

This effective book clearly appeals to instructors, students, and researchers, but it is written in a way that any layperson could understand.

From the Publisher

An important book that will help train students, community leaders, and others willing to forge authentic partnerships through engagement to impact health disparities and health inequalities.
—Janice V. Bowie, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

This effective book clearly appeals to instructors, students, and researchers, but it is written in a way that any layperson could understand.
—Elliott E. Tolbert, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

This book is itself revolutionary in documenting and sharing one pioneering medical school's dramatic contributions to changing the way physicians, public health professionals, community members and policymakers understand what primary care and community engagement for health equity and social justice really look like—and how transformative they can be. Drawing on myriad theory-based case studies and interventions from the local through global levels, Braithwaite and his colleagues powerfully illustrate how partnering with often disenfranchised urban and rural communities can assist residents in gaining control over their lives, while dramatically improving the processes and outcomes of social justice-focused health equity research. During these perilous times, the widely respected 'Morehouse Model,' and this book sharing its story and its lessons for us all, are gifts of singular importance to 'getting it right' as we move into the uncharted territory ahead.
—Meredith Minkler, DrPH, MPH, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, co-editor, Community-Based Participatory Research for Health: Advancing Social and Health Equity

The Morehouse Model describes a unique co-partnership between the community and the Morehouse School of Medicine in their joint quest for improving health. It is a testament to the importance of community engagement as a first principle in achieving health equity. It is a must-read for anyone working to effectively engage communities in medical education.
—Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive Director, American Public Health Association

The Morehouse School of Medicine model highlights proven methods for incorporating health equity and community engagement in training the next generation of physicians. We are pleased that they are a leading partner with the AMA in our Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium. Morehouse School of Medicine demonstrates that others can replicate this model in health professions education.
—Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, President, American Medical Association

Georges C. Benjamin

The Morehouse Model describes a unique co-partnership between the community and the Morehouse School of Medicine in their joint quest for improving health. It is a testament to the importance of community engagement as a first principle in achieving health equity. It is a must-read for anyone working to effectively engage communities in medical education.

Janice V. Bowie

An important book that will help train students, community leaders, and others willing to forge authentic partnerships through engagement to impact health disparities and health inequalities.

Patrice A. Harris

The Morehouse School of Medicine model highlights proven methods for incorporating health equity and community engagement in training the next generation of physicians. We are pleased that they are a leading partner with the AMA in our Accelerating Change in Medical Education Consortium. Morehouse School of Medicine demonstrates that others can replicate this model in health professions education.