The UNM Summer Institute in Community Based Participatory Research for Health presents The Practice of Hope: Using the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Model for Organizational Change,” on Thursday, May 30 at 4:30 p.m. in the HSC Domenici Center North Wing, Rm. 370 at 4:30 p.m.

A live stream of this event will be available at: The Practice of Hope: Using Community-Based Participatory Research Model for Organizational Change.

Laura Chanchien Parajon
Dr. Laura Chanchien Parajon

The talk, presented by guest speaker Dr. Laura Chanchien Parajon, will share the experience of how a non-profit community based primary health care organization used the CBPR model as a tool for organizational change and for improved health equity outcomes.

By integrating principles and practice of CBPR as a way of life into the organization’s DNA, we have improved our community practice of hope—listening to community priorities, engaging in equitable partnerships, creating supportive environments for transformative change, and taking action together for social justice.

Parajon is the executive director of the Office of Community Health and assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNM. She is the co-founder of the AMOS Health and Hope, a non-profit organization that works with community health workers (CHW) in remote areas of Nicaragua to improve health equity through health systems integration.

As a family physician and public health professional, she is part of a team of CHWs, health professional and educators who use the CBPR community empowerment azpproach to work alongside communities, reducing child mortality up to 80 percent in remote rural areas of Nicaraugua.

Co-sponsors of the event include: MPH Program, College of Population Health; Center for Participatory Research; Offices of Community Health and Diversity; Center for Native American Health; UNM Center for Social Policy; Community Engagement, CTSC; and The University of New Mexico.

For more information, visit Center for Participatory Research