Community-engaged Partnerships Research Articles

Community-engaged Research Partnerships as Healing Spaces for Health Professionals and Researchers

Abstract: Drawing from collective experiences in our capacity building project: Health Equity Activation Research Team for Inclusion Health, we argue that while community-engaged partnerships tend to focus on understanding health inequities and developing solutions, they can be healing spaces for health professionals and researchers. Data were obtained from a 15-month participatory ethnography, including focus groups and interviews. Ethnographic notes and transcripts were coded and analyzed using both deductive and inductive coding. Practices of radical welcome, vulnerability, valuing the whole person, acknowledging how partnerships can cause harm, and centering lived experience expertise in knowledge creation processes were identified as key characteristics of healing spaces. Ultimately, health professionals and researchers work within the same social, political and economic contexts of populations with the worst health outcomes. Their own healing is critical for tackling larger systemic changes aimed at improving the well-being of communities harmed by legacies of exclusion.

Partnering to Address Health Inequities among Incarcerated Populations: Prisons, Jails, and COVID-19 Vaccination

Abstract: Background: Incarcerated people have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and face significant challenges to COVID-19 vaccine confidence. Objectives: (1) Describe our partnerships with community members directly impacted by incarceration, (2) discuss the partnership’s process for co-developing and implementing project interventions to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence, and (3) share lessons learned from this unique community-engaged partnership. Methods: An advisory board of 14 formerly incarcerated community members participated in this project. Their wisdom and experience led to the development and implementation of interventions to increase confidence in COVID-19 vaccines among incarcerated people. Lessons Learned: Valuable lessons learned were centering community, leaning into trusted sources of information, acknowledging historical and present harms, and investing in community-engaged work. Conclusions: Centering lived experiences of those directly impacted by incarceration has been crucial to increasing vaccine confidence among this population. Doing so reinforced the importance of long-term investments in community-based collaborations with communities impacted by incarceration.

A Roadmap for Sustainable Community-Engaged Partnerships in Athletic Training and Using a Traveling Athletic Training Camp as an Implementation Strategy.

Improving access to athletic trainers and increasing diversity in the profession have been major goals of the Strategic Alliance, with a particular interest in the secondary school setting. Within many marginalized communities, individuals are often faced with a lack of resources, high rates of poverty, and limited access to health care. This social and economic climate often extends to inequitable athletic training services and patterns of disparate health. Widely used and recognized strategies to cultivate diversity and address health inequities include community-engaged partnerships; however, these approaches are not well implemented across the athletic training discipline. Successful community-engaged partnerships link communities and universities, and they are rooted in intentionality to address intermediate and long-term health equity outcomes. Athletic training professionals and scholars frequently encounter gaps in resources and process-oriented methods to participate in community-engaged efforts that could include a roadmap or pathway to follow. To bridge this gap, our aims were 2-fold: (1) to disseminate a roadmap for building sustainable community-engaged partnerships in athletic training with the intent of promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice across athletic training education, research, and professional service and (2) to demonstrate how the roadmap can be implemented using a community-based athletic training education camp as an example. Implementation of the athletic training camp using the roadmap took place at secondary schools where community-engaged partnerships have been established throughout a geographic region known as the Alabama Black Belt, a region burdened with poor health outcomes, limited athletic trainer presence, and lower quality of life, exacerbated by racial and socioeconomic inequalities. Implementing this roadmap as a strategy to build sustainable community-engaged partnerships offers an innovative, interactive, and effective approach to addressing community needs by exposing secondary school students to the athletic training profession, advancing equitable athletic training research practices, and upholding and promoting the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice in athletic training education.

Implementing and Marketing an Online Social–Emotional Learning Yoga Program: A Collaborative Approach

Physical education teacher education and sport marketing courses both require their majors to apply theory into real-world experiences that simulate the professional experience upon earning their degrees. After-school programming serves as a potential field site for teacher candidates and can also provide sport marketing students with the opportunity to authentically engage in the process of marketing and promotion. This article describes a collaboration between two university courses focused on implementing and marketing a middle school social-emotional learning yoga after-school program. The yoga program was virtual due to the pandemic, and it was led by university personnel. Teacher candidates learning basic teaching behaviors in their coursework logged in and engaged with the students and the content throughout the semester. Sport marketing students completed a project focused on marketing the program to secure additional student participants, and they also developed group names and logos to engage the community beyond the program. Collaborations across disciplines can enhance community-engaged partnerships, practical experiences for college students, and youth experiences in after-school programming.

My Health Coach: Community members' perspectives on a mobile health tool for adults with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) affect the health and development of people across the lifespan. Adults with FASD experience significant barriers to care. Accessible and scalable solutions are needed. In partnership with members of the International Adult Leadership Collaborative of FASD Changemakers, an international group of adults with FASD, we developed a mobile health (mHealth) application based on self-determination theory (SDT), called "My Health Coach," to promote self-management and health advocacy. This project follows an established user-centered design approach to app development and evaluation, allowing for feedback loops promoting iterative change. Research staff and ALC members co-led online focus groups (n = 26) and an online follow-up survey (n = 26) with adults with FASD to elicit feedback on completed design prototypes. Focus group transcriptions and surveys underwent systemic thematic and theoretical framework analysis. Analyses show overall positive impressions of the My Health Coach app. Participants were enthusiastic about the proposed features and tools the app will provide. Discussions and free responses revealed SDT constructs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) are a strong fit with participants' perceived outcomes shared in their evaluation of the prototype. Interesting recommendations were made for additional features that would further promote SDT constructs. This project demonstrates advantages of community-engaged partnerships in FASD research. Adults with FASD have a strong interest in scalable mHealth tools and described the acceptability of our initial design. App features and tools promoted SDT constructs.

The Radical Welcome Engagement Restoration Model and Assessment Tool for Community-Engaged Partnerships.

People experiencing addiction, houselessness, or who have a history of incarceration have worse health outcomes compared with the general population. This is due, in part, to practices and policies of historically White institutions that exclude the voices, perspectives, and contributions of communities of color in leadership, socio-economic development, and decision-making that matters for their wellbeing. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches hold promise for addressing health inequities. However, full engagement of people harmed by systemic injustices in CBPR partnerships is challenging due to inequities in power and access to resources. We describe how an Allentown-based CBPR partnership-the Health Equity Activation Research Team of clinicians, researchers, and persons with histories of incarceration, addiction, and houselessness-uses the Radical Welcome Engagement Restoration Model (RWERM) to facilitate full engagement by all partners. Data were collected through participatory ethnography, focus groups, and individual interviews. Analyses were performed using deductive coding in a series of iterative meaning-making processes that involved all partners. Findings highlighted six defining phases of the radical welcome framework: (a) passionate invitation, (b) radical welcome, (c) authentic sense of belonging, (d) co-creation of roles, (e) prioritization of issues, and (f) individual and collective action. A guide to assessing progression across these phases, as well as a 32-item radical welcome instrument to help CBPR partners anticipate and overcome challenges to engagement are introduced and discussed.

Antiracist Praxis in Community Engagement: A Partnership Rubric

This article argues for the need for a partnership evaluation rubric focused on antiracist praxis, the application of theory into practice. Such a rubric is critical given that service-learning and community engagement now exist under the neoliberal university, which uses assessment to justify program existence. Furthermore, many of our community partners work under the nonprofit industrial complex, where it is difficult to challenge racial inequity. Community-engaged scholars have identified antiracist best practices, including using a place-based approach, partnering with constituent-led organizations, making conflict productive, using an asset-oriented approach, and building solidarity. However, the analysis of our community-engaged partnership reveals that many existing equity-based partnership rubrics do not measure antiracist praxis explicitly. We thus developed and proposed a partnership rubric to assess antiracist praxis.

TOBACCO IN HOTELS: A STUDY OF NICOTINE EXPOSURE AND RESIDENT RISK

Abstract Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure exacts considerable health and financial impact on thousands of Americans yearly. One in four nonsmokers (about 58 million people) is routinely exposed to SHS, primarily at home. There is wide variability in smoke-free home policy adoption, leading to sociodemographic disparities in tobacco exposure and adverse health effects among low-income renters. Although there is no safe level of tobacco smoke exposure, varying perceptions about exposure effects and risks contribute to inconsistent use of harm-reduction strategies such as smoke-free home policies in private dwellings. Therefore, we surveyed and interviewed low-income extended-stay hotel renters (n=77) to learn about their perceptions of tobacco exposure. We also measured participants’ willingness to self-monitor these risks and adopt at-home smoke-free interventions. Most survey participants identified as nonsmokers (56.8%) exposed to tobacco smoke regularly. However, both nonsmokers and smokers preferred smoke-free rooms and indicated they would likely participate in personal health research by sharing air and biosamples to measure their exposure. We will present survey results of tobacco exposure knowledge and attitudes among long-term renters in Metropolitan Atlanta extended-stay hotels, perceptions of exposure risk, and self-efficacy beliefs. From our interview findings, we share renter and hotel manager readiness perceptions for implementing at-home smoke-free interventions. Lastly, we will share the results of integrating community-engaged partnerships with local organizations and respondent-driven sampling methods to build trust and aid renter recruitment.

Program Evaluation of a Community-Engaged Partnership Between a Counselor Preparation Program and Adult Probation Services

This study evaluated counseling services provided by counselor trainees to individuals on probation within a partnership between a counselor training program and a community supervision department. Eighty-one participants were included in the program evaluation, with 65 reporting demographics. Participants ranged in age from 18 to 74 and included 35 men and 30 women. Of those 65, 67.7% identified as White, 24.6% as African American, 6.2% as another race not specified, and 1.5% Native American or Alaskan Native. Additionally, 83.1% identified as non-Hispanic and 16.9% as Hispanic. Pre–post assessments were completed and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests revealed statistically significant reduction of anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, anger reactions, and relapse symptoms, and a statistically significant increase in presence of meaning in life, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Percentage improvement revealed more than half of the participants had clinically significant improvement in depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. Results indicate promise for community-engaged partnerships to provide no-cost responsive counseling services to individuals on probation.

Meaningful Community-Engaged Partnerships: Lessons Learned from Implementing a Community Health Needs Survey among Asian American and Pacific Islander Subgroups.

Community-based needs assessments are instrumental to address gaps in data collection and reporting, as well as to guide research, policy, and practice decisions to address health disparities in under-resourced communities. The New York University Center for the Study of Asian American Health collaboratively developed and administered a large-scale health needs assessment in diverse, low-income Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in New York City and three U.S. regional areas using an in-person or web-based, community-engaged approach. Community-engaged processes were modified over the course of three survey rounds, and findings were shared back to communities of interest using community preferred channels and modalities. Sustaining multiyear, on-the-ground engagement to drive community research efforts requires active bidirectional communication and delivery of tangible support to maintain trust between partners. Findings to facilitate community health programming and initiatives were built from lessons learned and informed by new and existing community-based partners.

Developing and Implementing In-Person and Virtual SoilSHOPs in Atlanta, Georgia, as a Community-Engaged Approach to Screen and Prevent Soil Lead Exposure.

Urban agriculture presents the opportunity for increased availability of local, fresh foods; however, exposure to lead soil contamination can occur through gardening in urban environments. Through a community-engaged partnership, we implemented Soil Screening, Health, Outreach and Partnerships (soilSHOPs), in-person and virtually, to screen soils for lead in Atlanta, Georgia. These soilSHOPs inform best practices for increasing awareness about lead exposure and grounding interventions in residents' lived experiences and also led the US Environmental Protection Agency to identify a Superfund site.

An ecological approach to understanding and addressing health inequities of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a complex chronic autoimmune disease disproportionally afflicting women and, in particular, American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and Hispanic women. These groups of women have significantly worse SLE-related health outcomes which are partially attributable to their exposure to marginalizing and interconnecting social issues like racism, sexism, economic inequality, and more. Although these groups of women have higher rates of SLE and though it is well known that they are at risk of exposure to marginalizing social phenomena, relatively little SLE literature explicitly links and addresses the relationship between marginalizing social issues and poor SLE-health outcomes among these women. Therefore, we developed a community-engaged partnership with two childhood-SLE diagnosed women of color to identify their perspectives on which systemic issues impacted on their SLE health-related outcomes. Afterward, we used Cochrane guidelines to conduct a rapid review associated with these identified issues and original SLE research. Then, we adapted an ecological model to illustrate the connection between systems issues and SLE health outcomes. Finally, we provided recommendations for ways to research and clinically mitigate SLE health inequities.

A training program to increase collaboration between interpreter and therapists in psychotherapy with resettled refugees.

Drawing from the framework of community-academic partnerships, we describe the development and implementation of a training module to increase collaboration between interpreters and therapists in interpreter-mediated psychotherapy with refugees. Beginning with community engagement with local agencies and leaders to identify barriers to accessing psychotherapy services in the resettled refugee populations, this project involved multiple layers of collaboration to include multiple perspectives. The program was funded by a local community foundation and was implemented in three phases. In the first phase we identified key community partners and stakeholders with first-hand knowledge of the needs of refugee populations. Phase two involved a two-day workshop for student therapists from different disciplines and interpreters working in the field. Phase three included a follow up to re-assess challenges in the field and refine our training. The need to build early collaboration between therapists and interpreters was highlighted throughout the development and implementation of the project. We discuss the project’s impact, challenges encountered, and implications of lessons learned in developing community-engaged partnerships for graduate programs as a way of promoting social justice in practitioner training.

Mapping Engagement: A Dive into the University’s Community-Engaged Partnerships

Mapping Engagement: A Dive into the University’s Community-Engaged Partnerships

Rural mistrust of public health interventions in the United States: A call for taking the long view to improve adoption.

Rural mistrust of public health interventions in the United States: A call for taking the long view to improve adoption.

Abstract PO-024: Survivorship care plan for cancer prevention and screening for people living with HIV (PLWH)

Abstract BACKGROUND. Over 1.2 million people living with HIV (PLWH) in the US are aging, many with the chance for normal or near-nomal life expectancy. Yet PLWH are at significantly increased risk for non-AIDS associated cancers due to immunocompromise, antiretroviral medications, lifestyle factors, and social determinants of health issues. HIV disproportionately affects Blacks, those from lower socioeconomic status, the uninsured, and the Southern US. Outcomes from PLWH diagnosed wtih cancer are consistently worse compared to those who are HIV negative, even when diagnosed at the same stage. However, PLWH are often unaware of their higher risk status and are infrequently referred for cancer prevention or screening by providers, despite these disparities in screening and outcomes. METHODS: To explore reasons why PLWH did not engage in cancer prevention or screening activities, we partnered with urban and rural community clinics with a mixed methods study design, including a quantitative survey and focus groups. RESULTS: In our sample (N=178), 90.4% Black, 57% female, significant differences were found between rural and urban settings related to guideline-concordant uptake of cancer screening and prevention. Only 37% subjects overall reported participating in regular cancer screening. Among women over 50 years who met criteria for breast cancer screening, 100% of women in the rural setting were screened while 55% of eligible women in the urban community received breast cancer screening (p=0.009). Participants from both settings demonstrated gaps in knowledge of their own cancer risk or need to pursue screening. Urban participants were more likely than rural to strongly disagree wtih the statement that HIV+ individuals are at higher risk for cancer (p<0.001). Qualitative data indicated the main reason why PLWH did not participate in prevention or screening activities was because participants were seldom referred for screening by their HIV clinic provider or informed of their risk status. Other qualitative data themes were shock and surprise at learning of their increased risk, or how certain behaviors might reduce cancer risk. DISCUSSION: Upon reviewing results with community partners, the suggestion was made that an HIV Survivorship Care Plan, similar to a Cancer Survivor Care Plan, be developed that could be part of the medical record. The HIV Survivorship Care Plan would incorporate cancer and other chronic disease screening, prevention interventions, and surveillance that would be important for aging PLWH to ensure both patients and providers adhered to evidence-based practices. CONCLUSIONS: PLWH are at increased risk for cancer incidence and mortality as they age, yet are often overlooked as a high-risk population that could greatly benefit from prevention and screening.The application of an HIV Survivorship Care Plan intervention is a novel approach to reduce disparities and improve quality of care and outcomes for PLWH. The tool will be tested and evaluated through additional community-engaged partnerships targeting PLWH. Citation Format: Theresa W. Gillespie, Loree Mincey, Yuan Liu, Denise Ballard, Kimberly W. Scott, Robert Knott, Minh Ly T. Nguyen, Saurabh Chawla, Joseph Lipscomb, Jessica H. Wells. Survivorship care plan for cancer prevention and screening for people living with HIV (PLWH) [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-024.

Literacy instructional coaching for inservice teachers through a community-engaged partnership

PurposeThe purpose of the study was to provide an example of instructional coaching for inservice teachers within the context of community-engaged scholarship (CEP), involving professional learning communities (PLCs). This study seeks to encourage policymakers to allocate budgets for instructional coaches, as well as resources for schools.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory case study design was used to examine the factors that contributed to the partnership and how the PLC sessions impacted the inservice teachers' practices. Data sources included interviews, focus groups, written reflections, observations of grade-level teachers' meetings and administrative meetings.FindingsThe study uncovered important factors that impacted the community-engaged partnership (CEP) positively, such as partners having a unified agenda, a common focus on the school's needs and an understanding of the culture of the school. Principals are the gatekeepers in such partnerships.Research limitations/implicationsThis study yielded the description of a model of instructional coaching within a CEP that other universities around the world could replicate. The limitations of this study include the length of the study and the time frame in which the PLC content was planned. The study was conducted over 1 year to limited funding. The instructional coach developed the PLC content during the ongoing academic year and that impacted the teachers' initial perceptions and their commitment to the PLCs.Originality/valueThis study offers a new coaching model for CEPs that focuses on closing the gap between theory and practice by integrating PLCs, content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and face-to-face visual support.

Promoting and Advocating for Ethical Community Engagement: Transparency in the Community-engaged Research Spectrum.

Promoting and Advocating for Ethical Community Engagement:Transparency in the Community-engaged Research Spectrum Darcy Jones McMaughan, PhD, Suzanne M. Dolwick Grieb, PhD, MSPH, PhD, MSPH, Roula Kteily-Hawa, PhD, MSc, MPH, BEd, OCT, and Kent D. Key, PhD, MPH, BBA Keywords Power sharing, process issues, community-based participatory research, community health partnerships, community health research Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action emerged in 2007 as the first scholarly journal dedicated to community-based participatory research (CBPR) in response to its rapid growth. The journal aimed to promote adoption of CBPR, advance the science of CBPR, and provide evidence for the value of CBPR in advancing health equity and improving health outcomes.1 CBPR and other forms of community-engaged research have become increasingly common in health research, as communities, scholars, and funders recognize the importance of community engagement in improving health research, health services, health equity, and population health.2–7 Community-engaged health research synthesizes the knowledge and experience of academic, community, and practice partners to create culturally competent, rigorous, relevant, and beneficial health and social services.8,9 Since its inception, the journal has supported this synthesis and continued to disseminate research illustrating the importance of collaboration and partnership for connecting research, education, and action. With the growing expectation that institutional researchers* involve those affected by research, the journal has explored other approaches to collaboration and partnership beyond CBPR and to highlight research that models true community-engaged partnerships, however they are manifested.10–12 In our continued efforts to advance the field of community-engaged research and promote health equity, we believe that a nuanced understanding of the role of partnership in this process is critical. Thus, the journal remains committed to fostering transparency in the partnership process alongside the presentation of research methods, results, and translation to practice. Through this editorial, we hope to facilitate this transparency in the research published through the journal by reflecting on the continuum of community-engaged research and the role of context. We aim to provide guidance for authors, institutional researchers, and community members as they engage in and disseminate community-engaged research. Transparency is an invaluable aspect of determining the alignment of context and level of community engagement.13 Institutional researchers must be transparent with community members and funders and in their scholarly output to facilitate alignment. Scholars in the field of community engagement have worked toward addressing these issues by clarifying the community-engaged research continuum, [End Page 419] providing tools for institutional researchers to understand where they fall on the continuum and emphasizing the importance of context and transparency in their process. THE CONTINUUM Community-engaged research exists on a continuum from less engaged (like outreach and advisory committees) to the more collaborative and fully engaged (like shared leadership).13–15 In nonparticipatory research, institutional researchers assume the role of sole generators and arbiters of knowledge, hold all the power, and maintain control over the research decision-making processes, from setting the research agenda to controlling the diffusion of knowledge. The institutional researcher is central, and the role of community members is as a data source and an object of study. In community-engaged research, by contrast, the knowledge, power, and decision-making dynamics are central, with power shared between community members, practice partners, and institutional researchers along a continuum, starting with valuing input from community partners to full community ownership of research projects.16,17 Minimal engagement involves community members only on the 'bookends' of the research process—creating research questions, and interpretation and dissemination of findings,18 whereas full engagement is transversal and involves community members throughout the research process, from posing research questions and choosing the study design and analytic methods to the interpretation and dissemination of findings. Shared decision-making and equitable involvement of community members vary in degrees across community-engaged research and even within projects across time. 19–21 Given that community-engaged research truly is a continuum, there are no boxes into which we can neatly fit scholarly works. As a paradigm, community-engaged research is fluid in nature, always evolving and always open for interpretation. As Nicole Brown15 argues in her work on "The...

“I want them to feel heard. I want their voices to be agents of change”: Exploring a Community-Engaged Partnership Focused on Critical Service-Learning

This study explored the successes and informative challenges of a partnership forged between an elementary school, a university, and a nonprofit educational agency. The purpose of the partnership was to research the implementation of a yearlong critical service-learning framework in third and fifth grades. Teachers were engaged in a series of professional development sessions and workshops to learn how to enact My VOICE, a pedagogical approach that leverages student voices to develop a community-based service project that addresses a student-identified social issue. Using qualitative approaches, we systematically gathered teachers’ perspectives and recorded the apparent strengths and weaknesses of the partnership. We posit suggestions for strengthening the partnership and highlight the benefits of critical pedagogies that can be impactful for all children.

Faith in Action, Adult Learning, and Immigrant Justice

This article emerges from a collaborative research project between a religious studies professor at DePaul University and the executive director of the Chicago-based non-profit Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI). In 2016, we forged a community partnership to explore and enhance the relationship between pedagogy, faith, and social justice. In this article, we share the results of our research on how exposure to and involvement with the work of ICDI impacts students, staff, and volunteers. Our research reveals the powerful effect that a community-engaged partnership can have not only on adult learning but also on spiritual development. Our findings suggest that faith in action may take several forms, including encounter, accompaniment, advocacy, and social justice, and that those who engage the work of ICDI may engage them in different ways. These insights will be useful for institutions, both universities and community organizations alike, in enhancing adult learning and spiritual growth.