Abstract
This paper examines a comprehensive prevention initiative that bridges academic and community boundaries to address persistent health disparities among urban minority youth in the United States. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate how the integration of university expertise with community knowledge can generate culturally responsive, evidence-based strategies that target the intersecting challenges of substance use and HIV/AIDS in underserved populations. The partnership between Montclair State University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution in northern New Jersey, and the city of Paterson—New Jersey’s third-largest and one of its most resource-constrained urban centers—serves as the focal case study. Supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Minority AIDS Initiative, this collaboration applies the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) as its guiding methodology. The SPF’s five stages—assessment, capacity building, planning, implementation, and evaluation—are employed to mobilize local assets, strengthen community capacity, and adapt evidence-based interventions to ensure cultural and contextual relevance. Specific examples of program design and delivery will illustrate how community input informed the tailoring of prevention approaches to address the lived realities of racial and ethnic minority youth. The implications of this work extend beyond a single locality. Findings underscore the value of community–academic partnerships in producing sustainable health improvements and advancing equity within vulnerable populations. By highlighting the processes, challenges, and successes of this initiative, the study contributes to the broader dialogue on collaborative strategies for addressing complex social and public health issues across diverse and interconnected communities.
Presenters
Robert ReidProfessor, College for Community Health / Department of Family Science and Human Development, Montclair State University, New Jersey, United States Pauline Garcia-Reid
Associate Professor, Montclair State University
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Community-Academic Partnerships, Health Disparities, Urban Minority Youth, Culturally Responsive Interventions
