Methods for fostering a community academic partnership in a firefighter community.

Objectives: To describe how a community academic partnership (CAP) created a cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention program for firefighters.
Methods: Principles of community based participatory research (CBPR) were integrated with intervention mapping (IM) to guide the development of a physical activity program.
Results: Key elements of the CAP program include instituting annual CVD screenings; creating a department-wide program and a pilot intervention for high-risk firefighters; training firefighters to become peer health mentors; improving access to physical activity equipment; instituting policy to promote physical activity, and validating instrumentation for assessing cardiorespiratory fitness.
Conclusions: Integrating CBPR with IM was an efficacious approach for engaging firefighters in research for developing an ecological approach to cardiovascular health in firefighters.