Promoting improved outcomes in health and healthcare through innovative research, development and growth of researchers, and stakeholder engagement to transform population health.

The Center for Healthcare Evaluation and Engagement Research, or CHEER, aligns with UF Health’s strategic priority to facilitate research that leads to greater health equity. The center is housed within the Office of Research Affairs at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville.

CHEER builds on a longstanding university commitment to promote health research using patient-centered and community engagement models. CHEER also conducts healthcare evaluation research designed to improve patient and population-level health outcomes. CHEER’s research focus is to:

1. Better understand the drivers of health that impact patients and the community.
2. Design and evaluate interventions to address those drivers.
3. Evaluate healthcare systems and medical infrastructure to ensure efficiency and effectiveness for all system users.

For more information, contact the CHEER team at CHEER@jax.ufl.edu or 904-244-9626.

Key Goals

Advance Medicine and Population Health

• Design, test, implement and evaluate interventions to improve health care and health outcomes.
• Increase understanding of the drivers that affect the quality and outcomes of health and health care.

Attain Operational and Financial Efficiency

• Serve as a clearinghouse for proposed projects from University of Florida researchers and scientists on the Jacksonville, Lake Nona/Orlando, and Gainesville campuses, as well as from other organizations who are interested in working with key stakeholders from our various populations.

Enhance Communication and Marketing

• Promote/market CHEER to the UF and wider stakeholder communities.

Recruit and Retain Top Talent

• Recruit and educate key stakeholders including clinical faculty/staff and community partners on community participatory research approaches and partner with them on research projects that advance population health.

Grow and Enhance Partnerships

• Foster and engage a network of researchers, clinicians, and key stakeholders in developing, expanding, and implementing a research agenda that addresses barriers to positive health outcomes and well-being.

Partners

CHEER collaborates with a variety of partners, both within the UF enterprise and in the broader community.

The University of Florida's Urban Health Alliance (UHA) was formed in 2019 to create access and opportunities for better community health. UHA seeks to bring organizations and individuals together to help create community-initiated, self-sustainable strategies and solutions by focusing on four key pillars:

• Services – Identify and implement programs to address the drivers of health.
• Education – Provide education and training opportunities in our community for individuals of all ages.
• Research – Conduct and provide support for innovative research to improve health outcomes in our community.
• Policy – Provide empirical evidence to inform, create, and modify policies affecting population health.

UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) accelerates the translation of scientific discoveries into practice for the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure of human disease.