https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580221142488 Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing Volume 59: 1–7 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/00469580221142488 journals.sagepub.com/home/inq Introduction Eliminating health disparities experienced by young Black men (ages 18-24) is an important public health objective. 1 The literature has demonstrated a disproportionate burden of health and social conditions carried by these young men, who identify as Black and come from a vast array of lived experiences and cultural and ethnic backgrounds from the African diaspora. 2 Studies have shown that the health and social inequities experienced by this group are diverse. 2 They include, but are not limited to, lack of access to care and insurance, the inability to see a provider due to cost, lack of healthcare knowledge (eg, reproductive health related to pregnancy and condom effectiveness), poor education, high rates of unemployment and other risky health practices such as unsafe sex and alcohol and substance misuse. 2-4 Original Research 1142488INQ XX X 10.1177/00469580221142488INQUIRYBurns et al research-article 2022 Young Men’s Health Matters: Implementing a Community-Academic Partnership in an Urban Federally Qualified Health Center Jade Burns, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC 1 , Jaquetta Reeves, PhD, MS, BSN, RN, NP-C 2 , Mackenzie Adams, MPH 1 , Gabrielle Darville-Sanders, PhD, MPH 3 , Keith A. Johnstone, Jr., BBA 4 , Rico Ozuna-Harrison, BA 4 , Kedar Johnson, BSN 1 , Derek Ware, BA 5 , George H. Shade, Jr., MD, FACOG, FACPE 5 , and Wayne W. Bradley, Sr., BA 5 Abstract Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches are being leveraged more and more in efforts to improve health equity. Informing the building of community-academic partnerships, CBPR draws on the community’s expressed needs and engages stakeholders in future intervention development. To date, however, little has been published on such efforts targeting the health of young Black men (ages 18-24), despite this population’s disproportionate need. In this paper, we describe the formation of a community-academic partnership in a federally qualified health center, with the goal of improving the health of young Black men in Detroit, Michigan. After conducting a needs assessment, we built upon existing networks to form a Community Advisory Board (CAB). We held three community forums during which CAB members highlighted key health issues in their community and described how they could be addressed. We developed a plan for future research and community engagement based on community input. Finally, we provide insights on community engagement strategies, forum structure, setting boundaries, trust-building, and valuable information in addressing the inequities in health that affect young Black men. Keywords Community health centers, community-based participatory research, healthcare disparities, men’s health, young adult What do we already know about this topic? Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches are increasingly leveraged to drive health equity programs. How does your research contribute to the field? This paper provides a framework for maintaining, sustaining, and evaluating community-based partnerships and how these partnerships can influence research practice early on in addressing equitable care and health promotion among racial-ethnic minority males. What are your research’s implications toward theory, practice, or policy? Fostering community engagement through the active participation of stakeholders is critical to the success of healthcare interventions, evidence-based practice, and policy change.