Advancing Non-Medical Risk Factor Research through a CBPR Lens: A Short Course - It is increasingly recognized that the future of nursing and healthcare research must incorporate a clear understanding of non-medical risk factors—such as economic conditions, environmental exposures, housing, education, and other structural conditions—that significantly influence health outcomes. To address persistent health differences and improve population health, there is a critical need to develop educational and research strategies that extend beyond clinical care to encompass these broader influences. Although frameworks and best practices exist for training clinicians, there remains a substantial gap in preparing researchers—particularly nurse scientists—to study and intervene on nonmedical risk factors. Current curricula have largely focused on clinical practice, leaving the research domain underdeveloped. Actionable research is urgently needed to address upstream and downstream influences, life course processes, biological mechanisms, and global data limitations. The nursing profession is well-positioned to lead this work, given its longstanding focus on population health and its deep engagement in care delivery and communities. To build research capacity in this area, we propose a short course to prepare nurse scientists and other health professional researchers to plan and conduct community-based participatory research (CBPR) studies focused on non-medical risk factors. The course will equip participants to identify, measure, and address these factors across all populations. This evidence-based, scalable training model supports rapid capacity-building and knowledge translation—key priorities for NIH and NINR. The initiative addresses workforce development needs in implementation science and advances research that informs policy, strengthens interventions, and accelerates real-world impact.
