Chrismery Gonzalez, MPH, faces one of the toughest challenges in public health today: Bridging the gap between communities of color and the academic researchers who want to make their studies more relevant to all by tapping into these communities.

It’s a wide chasm, deepened by generations of distrust toward the scientific establishment due to past public-health failures in historically under-represented and marginalized groups. Gonzalez sees it firsthand in her work as a Harvard Catalyst Community Ambassador and member of the Community Coalition for Equity in Research, where she helps build bridges between Harvard researchers and diverse communities in western Massachusetts.

In addition to these roles, Gonzalez is a doctoral student in public health at the University of Albany and coordinator of the Office of Health and Racial Equity for the City of Springfield in Massachusetts. We caught up with her to talk about why this work matters.

As a community ambassador, you are supporting a research study led by Courtney Beard at McLean Hospital about parental anxiety transference. What does your role entail?

I’m supporting the study by conducting outreach here in Western Massachusetts. The researchers are interested in reaching parents and guardians of four- to five-year-olds and younger children in historically under-represented communities. Our job is to identify organizations that serve parents and guardians in western MA and/or may interact with children in the target age range. So far, we’ve identified local youth service and mentorship organizations with whom researchers can begin to build relationships.

It’s extremely helpful to have intentional and culturally appropriate outreach for western MA, because we tend to look different than the eastern part of the state. Our resources are different, the organizations and the amazing work they do tend to look different to better serve our community.

How do those kinds of connections ultimately improve equity?

On one hand, these connections offer an opportunity for researchers and scientists to take an appropriate approach to community engagement and to think about their research as a whole. On the other end, they allow communities to be active participants and true allies in the work, especially when their voices are heard and their interests are centered.

I think often times communities or participants in research studies are welcomed into certain parts of the process, and after their role plays out they are kindly walked to the door. There’s kind of a paternalistic approach that has happened and can happen, where people from outside the community come in and frame a problem identified by their standards. While this approach may lead to developing one or two solutions, it does not always take into consideration the community’s priorities.

“Having a more engaged and active relationship-building approach empowers communities. It strengthens relationships between researchers and communities, which will result in more effective, and hopefully successful, research.”

It can be complex. Researchers believe they are addressing a health disparity and offering a solution to improve community health outcomes but the disparity they identified or solution they developed may not align with the needs or priorities of community members. As a result, sustainability may be affected. That’s why listening is extremely important. You really need to meet people where they are.

Having a more engaged and active relationship-building approach empowers communities. It strengthens relationships between researchers and communities, which will result in more effective, and hopefully successful, research. So the implications are great.

Communities of color have historically been under-represented—or worse—in research studies. From your perspective, are things changing?

I do see things changing over time, but it’s slow. I know there’s a push and a drive for more equitable approaches to research. It’s important to elevate the inclusion of culturally- appropriate methods within equitable approaches to research. We also have to acknowledge that there’s distrust, because so much harm has been done by researchers in the past to many communities of color. That’s not something that can be changed overnight.

Western MA and the Springfield area comprise historically minority communities who have experienced disproportionately poorer health outcomes compared to their white counterparts. As a result, we tend to be over-sampled and overstudied. The community has faced these challenges for decades. So I can understand the challenges that come with being asked to once again participate, to give out information and sign up to be a part of a cause when you don’t see the value of your participation. I can understand the distrust.

“As we invite communities to be collaborators and not just participants, I think we can start to see more shifts in what can be done using a community-centered and community-led approach.”

As we invite communities to be collaborators and not just participants, I think we can start to see more shifts in what can be done using a community-centered and community-led approach. But researchers need to understand how they’re perceived when they come into these spaces. They need to make sure they’re not being defensive when community members share their needs and boundaries.

It’s about being intentional, being strategic, as well as being authentic and genuine. And listening. If you’re meeting with community members and they’re not really listening to what you’re saying, then perhaps it’s because you’re speaking too much and not listening to what they’re saying. It might not be the right time, or the right audience, or the right individual to work with at the time. If we meet communities where they’re at, hopefully, olive branches extended over time can grow to be fruitful.

What is your message to community members when you reach out to them to collaborate in these studies?

I urge community members to really get involved, to ask questions, to share anything that’s holding them back or that they’re struggling with. I tell them we can’t make any change without you being at the table. We need representation in these spaces. We need your voice to be heard and amplified.

Community members may or may not see themselves as “experts,” but they very much are. They are literally the content experts for what’s going on in their communities. Getting involved is an opportunity to be impactful by offering their knowledge and expertise to improve research being conducted in their community for the betterment of their community. Without it, nothing can change.

You are also a member of the Community Coalition for Equity in Research. What has been the value to you of your involvement with the coalition?

I’m currently getting my doctorate in public health at the University of Albany. This experience has helped me to think not only about my dissertation focus, but the outcomes I want my work as a public health practitioner to have. What is that going to look like?

It’s been a great exercise in how to think about community outreach and equity, but most importantly implementation. How can we implement equity? How can we turn these lessons into specific actionable items and steps that can improve health not just within Massachusetts, whether it’s Boston or Springfield, but in communities across the United States?