As climate-sensitive hazards increasingly impact the health and well-being of our communities, equitable and intentional community engagement and community-engaged research are critical to create responsive climate health solutions that are effective and informed by the community’s lived experience.
- Community Engagement Toolkit for Climate and Health Research
The Community Engagement Core (CEC) of the REACH Center supports the Center’s engagement with the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI) community. These five states, known as the WWAMI region, are served by the University of Washington’s multi-state medical education program, which seeks to make medical education more accessible in rural areas.
Community Engagement Core Aims and Activities
Develop partnerships & prioritize needs
Convene Community Advisory Board; Host partner symposium.
Support dissemination of REACH Center work
Develop Research-to-Practice Plan template; Create CHaRT user stories
Provide training for REACH researchers
Help REACH team develop community engagement plans; Support fellows' community engagement
The CEC convenes a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of clinical and community health practitioners to guide CEC activities.
The CAB is charged with the following objectives:
- Provide feedback for REACH CEC Activities.
- Participate in a cross-sector community of practice around climate change and health in the WWAMI region.
- Articulate priorities for engaging with communities on climate and health adaptation in the WWAMI region.
REACH CAB members include:
- Abby Davids, Faculty and Boise Program Director, Full Circle Health Family Medicine Residency of Idaho
- Cari Hacking, Trauma Program Manager, Banner Wyoming Medical Center
- Colette Kirchhoff, MD, FAAFP, Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine, University of Washington, and Foundations of Clinical Medicine Director, WWAMI Medical School in Montana
- Laura Laumatia, Environmental Programs Manager, Coeur d’Alene Tribe
- Leena Myran, Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, University of Wyoming Family Medicine Residency Program
The Community Engagement Toolkit for Climate and Health Research supports researchers and communities in designing and implementing engagement that builds trust with community members and centers community empowerment in resilience efforts. It was adapted from a range of existing community engagement resources and guidance to support researchers, communities, and students in integrating engagement into future climate health initiatives.
This toolkit includes:
- Guiding principles for community engagement
- An engagement checklist and fillable planning template
- A framework for identifying the appropriate level(s) and method(s) of engagement for unique research contexts and examples of engagement activities
The Toolkit will be posted here in early 2026.
The REACH Center hosted the Health in a Changing Environment Symposium on July 30, 2025, for clinical and community health practitioners engaged or interested in climate and health risk reduction efforts in the WWAMI region. Through facilitated group discussions, the research team sought to understand the climate-sensitive hazards that impact the health of the populations served by symposium participants and populations disproportionately impacted by these hazards. In addition, the symposium aimed to identify risk reduction interventions, facilitators and barriers to implementation and uptake, and remaining needs to support practitioners in the pursuit of interventions.
The symposium findings will support the prioritization of key climate change and health issues for research, intervention, and educational activities in the WWAMI region. The report includes a description of the symposium methods, a summary of symposium participants’ conversations, and a discussion of needs and next steps for climate and health risk reduction in the WWAMI region.
The symposium report will be posted here in early 2026.
Work in progress - check back soon.
Work in progress - check back soon.
- Tania Busch Isaksen, REACH Community Engagement Core Project Lead, Teaching Professor, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
- Resham Patel, REACH Community Engagement Core Project Co-Lead, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
- Anna Reed, Research Coordinator, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
- Clare McCarthy, Research Coordinator, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
- Gen Conley, Master of Public Health Student, Department of Health Systems and Population Health
- Abigail Meyers, Undergraduate Student, School of Environmental and Forestry Sciences
To contact the CEC, email Anna (areed5@uw.edu) or Clare (claremc@uw.edu).