Involvement Of Community Members Research Articles

Training & Community Involvement for Remote Housing Projects in Australia Northern Territory

Abstract—Construction of houses in remote communities faces a range of challenges, many of which would be reduced by the involvement of local community members during the construction. Remote housing demand is high and under-resourcing in existing houses impacts on the health of the occupants. This research investigates and evaluates ways to improve community engagement in remote housing projects. Builders with experience delivering remote housing projects were asked to provide insight relating to the potential training and involvement of community members during construction. It was found that builders have major challenges with work ethics, poor numeracy and literacy and language barrier in remote areas which hinder community engagement in remote projects. Some building techniques such as slab on ground and steel wall framing were found more effective for community engagement. Results also show that training of community members could be improved by setting benchmark goals to be achieved throughout a project. This means there is an opportunity for housing projects in remote communities to improve on essential training and employment through better involvement of local community members during construction, in turn this will lead to better maintenance and understanding of houses.

Engaging communities as partners in health crisis response: a realist-informed scoping review for research and policy

BackgroundHealth is increasingly affected by multiple types of crises. Community engagement is recognised as being a critical element in successful crisis response, and a number of conceptual frameworks and global guideline documents have been produced. However, little is known about the usefulness of such documents and whether they contain sufficient information to guide effective community engagement in crisis response. We undertake a scoping review to examine the usefulness of conceptual literature and official guidelines on community engagement in crisis response using a realist-informed analysis [exploring contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes(CMOs)]. Specifically, we assess the extent to which sufficient detail is provided on specific health crisis contexts, the range of mechanisms (actions) that are developed and employed to engage communities in crisis response and the outcomes achieved. We also consider the extent of analysis of interactions between the mechanisms and contexts which can explain whether successful outcomes are achieved or not.Scope and findingsWe retained 30 documents from a total of 10,780 initially identified. Our analysis found that available evidence on context, mechanism and outcomes on community engagement in crisis response, or some of their elements, was promising, but few documents provided details on all three and even fewer were able to show evidence of the interactions between these categories, thus leaving gaps in understanding how to successfully engage communities in crisis response to secure impactful outcomes. There is evidence that involving community members in all the steps of response increases community resilience and helps to build trust. Consistent communication with the communities in time of crisis is the key for effective responses and helps to improve health indicators by avoiding preventable deaths.ConclusionsOur analysis confirms the complexity of successful community engagement and the need for strategies that help to deal with this complexity to achieve good health outcomes. Further primary research is needed to answer questions of how and why specific mechanisms, in particular contexts, can lead to positive outcomes, including what works and what does not work and how to measure these processes.

Sistem Keadilan Juvana di Malaysia: Empat Prospek Penambahbaikan

The issue of children and adolescents involved in crime is an issue that needs serious attention as statistics and crime rates involving children show instability. There are various prospects for improvement that can be made in the juvenile justice system in Malaysia. Based on the perspective of social sciences and the findings from relevant previous studies, this article explores four prospects for improvement that can be considered by the Malaysian government, especially policy makers; namely the involvement of victims of crime in the justice process, the involvement of community members in the justice process, the active and comprehensive involvement of family members as well as the emphasis on aftercare. In addition, this article discusses the challenges that may be faced by the juvenile justice system that should also be considered in order to facilitate the process of improving the proposed prospects. This article contributes to the literature related to juvenile issues and the juvenile justice system in Malaysia which is expected to provide useful input for the reference of policymakers to further improve the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system in the country.

Mapping and vulnerability assessment in urban slums of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand: A Cross-sectional Survey

Background: With increasing urbanization, number of urban slums is also rising. The health facilities and indicators in urban slums are poor as compared to other urban population. The present study presents an analysis of the health problems, utilization of health services and vulnerability of urban slums. Aims & Objectives: To map the slums in urban areas and assess the vulnerability of households. Methodology: The study was conducted in all urban slums of five cities of Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts namely Haldwani, Ramnagar, Rudrapur, Jaspur and Kashipur. Group discussions involving community members, ward surveys by ASHA workers and household level vulnerability assessment were done using standard format according to “Guidelines and Tools for Vulnerability Mapping and Assessment of Urban Health, 2017”. Results: Most urban slum dwellers are daily wage laborers with major population suffering mainly from diabetes, hypertension, respiratory infection. Lack of drugs and diagnostic facilities are the major concerns. Infrastructure needs strengthening in most of the slums. Around three fourth of population belonged to vulnerable group with remaining in highly vulnerable group. Conclusion: There are social problems in urban slums like illiteracy, lack of awareness, unemployment which worsen the health problems. So, a holistic approach is needed for the solution.

Policy dialogue: Key factors for the success of transit-oriented development infrastructure 3.0 in big cities in Indonesia

This research aims to determine the factors driving the success of four large cities in Indonesia in implementing Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) infrastructure policies beyond the eight TOD 3.0 Principles. Only a few studies like this have been conducted. The research uses qualitative methods and is supported by in-depth interviews with stakeholders, community leaders, community groups, and service users. The research findings reveal six themes: policy dialogue, organizational structure and coordination, changes in community habits, resources, dissemination and communication, and transportation and connectivity services. The characteristics of the community in the study area that prioritize deliberation are important determinants in policy dialogue and are involved in determining policy formulation. The city government has established a comprehensive organizational and coordination structure for the village and sub-district levels. The Government controls infrastructure development activities, establishes a chain of command and coordination, and encourages people to change their private car usage habits. The city government combines all this with the principle of deliberation and conveys important information to the public. The research highlights the differences in TOD implementation in Indonesia compared to other countries. Specifically, the existence of policy dialogue and the direct involvement of community members influence the level of program policy formulation and are crucial in controlling urban infrastructure development.

One size doesn't fit all: methodological reflections in conducting community-based behavioural science research to tailor COVID-19 vaccination initiatives for public health priority populations.

Promoting the uptake of vaccination for infectious diseases such as COVID-19 remains a global challenge, necessitating collaborative efforts between public health units (PHUs) and communities. Applied behavioural science can play a crucial role in supporting PHUs' response by providing insights into human behaviour and informing tailored strategies to enhance vaccination uptake. Community engagement can help broaden the reach of behavioural science research by involving a more diverse range of populations and ensuring that strategies better represent the needs of specific communities. We developed and applied an approach to conducting community-based behavioural science research with ethnically and socioeconomically diverse populations to guide PHUs in tailoring their strategies to promote COVID-19 vaccination. This paper presents the community engagement methodology and the lessons learned in applying the methodology. The community engagement methodology was developed based on integrated knowledge translation (iKT) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles. The study involved collaboration with PHUs and local communities in Ontario, Canada to identify priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination, understand factors influencing vaccine uptake and co-design strategies tailored to each community to promote vaccination. Community engagement was conducted across three large urban regions with individuals from Eastern European communities, African, Black, and Caribbean communities and low socioeconomic neighbourhoods. We developed and applied a seven-step methodology for conducting community-based behavioural science research: (1) aligning goals with system-level partners; (2) engaging with PHUs to understand priorities; (3) understanding community strengths and dynamics; (4) building relationships with each community; (5) establishing partnerships (community advisory groups); (6) involving community members in the research process; and (7) feeding back and interpreting research findings. Research partnerships were successfully established with members of prioritized communities, enabling recruitment of participants for theory-informed behavioural science interviews, interpretation of findings, and co-design of targeted recommendations for each PHU to improve COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Lessons learned include the importance of cultural sensitivity and awareness of sociopolitical context in tailoring community engagement, being agile to address the diverse and evolving priorities of PHUs, and building trust to achieve effective community engagement. Effective community engagement in behavioural science research can lead to more inclusive and representative research. The community engagement approach developed and applied in this study acknowledges the diversity of communities, recognizes the central role of PHUs, and can help in addressing complex public health challenges.

Participation in collaborative fisheries research improves the perceptions of recreational anglers towards marine protected areas

Collaborative fisheries research programs engage stakeholders in data collection efforts, often with the benefit of increasing transparency about the status and management of natural resources. These programs are particularly important in marine systems, where management of recreational and commercial fisheries have historically been contentious. One such program is the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP), which was designed in 2006 to engage recreational anglers in the scientific process and evaluate the efficacy of California’s network of marine protected areas. CCFRP began on the Central Coast of California and expanded statewide in 2017 to include six partner institutions in three regions: Northern, Central, and Southern California. To date, over 2,000 volunteer anglers have participated in the program, with many anglers volunteering for multiple years. However, the impacts of outreach, education, and collaborative research on those anglers at the statewide scale are currently unknown. Thus, the objective of the current study was to survey the statewide pool of volunteer anglers to assess the degree to which participation in CCFRP has influenced angler perceptions of MPAs, fisheries management, and conservation. We received 259 completed surveys out of a pool of 1,386 active anglers, equating to an 18.7% response rate. Participation in CCFRP resulted in a significant, positive impact on anglers’ attitudes towards MPAs in California across all regions. Anglers who participated in six or more CCFRP fishing trips had a more positive perception of MPAs than those who participated in fewer trips. Volunteer anglers across all regions perceived that they caught larger fishes, a higher abundance of fishes, and a greater diversity of species inside MPAs, consistent with the ecological findings of the program. These results highlight the benefits of involving community members in collaborative scientific research. Collaboration between researchers and the broader community increases transparency and trust between stakeholders, and results in greater understanding of natural resource dynamics, ultimately producing better management outcomes.

Community-based symptom reporting among agro-pastoralists and their livestock in Chad in a One Health approach

One Health Syndromic Surveillance has a high potential for detecting early epidemiological events in remote and hard-to-reach populations. Chadian pastoralists living close to their animals and being socio-economically unprivileged have an increased risk for zoonosis exposure. Engaging communities in disease surveillance could also strengthen preparedness capacities for outbreaks in rural Chad. This study describes a retrospective cross-sectional survey that collected data on clinical symptoms reported in people and livestock in Chadian agro-pastoral communities. In January-February 2018, interviews were conducted in rural households living in nomadic camps or settled villages in the Yao and Danamadji health districts. The questionnaire covered demographic data and symptoms reported in humans and animals for the hot, wet, and cold seasons over the last 12 months. Incidence rates of human and animal symptoms were comparatively analyzed at the household level. Ninety-two households with a homogeneous socio-demographic distribution were included. We observed cough and diarrhea as the most frequent symptoms reported simultaneously in humans and animals. In all species, the incidence rate of cough was significantly higher during the cold season, and diarrhea tended to occur more frequently during the wet season. However, the incidence rate of cough and diarrhea in animals did not predict the incidence rate of these symptoms in humans. Overall, the variations in reported symptoms were consistent with known seasonal, regional, and sociological influences on endemic diseases. Our retrospective study demonstrated the feasibility of collecting relevant health data in humans and animals in remote regions with low access to health services by actively involving community members. This encourages establishing real-time community-based syndromic surveillance in areas such as rural Chad.

AN ASSESSMENT OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE IN KAILAHUN DISTRICT

Disease surveillance is critical for recognizing and anticipating infectious disease epidemics. It collects health-related data from a community in order to detect and monitor disease epidemics in their early stages. Disease monitoring necessitates a large network of sentinel sites to follow infections throughout the community. The study focuses on communicable illness surveillance in the Kailahun district. It looks into the surveillance reporting system for communicable diseases, the flow of surveillance information, the various components of individuals involved in surveillance activities, the challenges faced by the surveillance system in the Kailahun district, and the involvement of community members in surveillance activities, as well as ways to improve communicable disease surveillance in the Kailahun district. This study employs a quantitative cross-sectional design for research. It consequently employs the cross-sectional study design. I picked a cross-sectional design for this study based on the data needed to address the research questions. As a result, I structured the study questions so that qualitative data would be collected to provide descriptive information, while quantitative data would be analyzed in tables and charts. Infectious disease surveillance is widely acknowledged as the foundation of public health policy and practice. Surveillance statistics are critical for monitoring the populations health state, diagnosing diseases, and taking action to avoid future illness and contain public health problems. The need to strengthen disease surveillance and response systems is now widely recognized around the world.

“Kuteteza”: A community-engaged COVID-19 Prevention and Protection Initiative in Southern Malawi

Background The COVID-19 epidemic in Malawi involved almost 90,000 recorded cases and 2,638 deaths. Data suggest that the Malawi epidemic developed largely in urban settings, but the extent of rural spread – exposing older adults in particular – is unclear. This concern led us, to develop the ‘Kuteteza’ partnership project: a community-based Public Health intervention involving the shielding of older adults and additional strategies to mitigate COVID-19 impacts in rural Malawi. We now present the results of a realist project evaluation. Methods Clinicians, Public Health professionals, and researchers collaborated with government and district level staff in two Malawi districts. After engagement with local structures, willing older adults (>60 years) and their communities made arrangements for supported 'shielding'. Masks, handwashing stations, and soap were also provided, and government partnerships allowed additional support for vulnerable groups. Finally, context-responsive community engagement reinforced COVID-19 prevention during peak risk periods. Our realist evaluation included collation of anonymised descriptive data and qualitative structured observations and focus groups – involving community members and volunteers – in each setting. Results The project involved 25 villages. Multi-level stakeholder engagement was pivotal in developing and establishing the work, and strong District Health Office support was integral to implementation. Team members contributed to national meetings, aligning the project with national guidance and stakeholder actions. Established partnerships with relevant ministries resulted in the incorporation of shielding in the Malawi COVID-19 response plan. In Kuteteza villages, handwashing stations and soap were used, and there was awareness of COVID-19 prevention measures. Further experiences and evaluation results are presented, including learning points for future outbreak responses. Conclusions Through effective stakeholder engagement and contribution to national response strategy, the Kuteteza project raised awareness and supported populations at a critical time in the pandemic. These approaches can be incorporated in future epidemic and emergency responses.

Disaster cultures and the Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System: (mis)alignments revealed by the 2018 non-tectonic tsunami in Labuan

This study examined the (mis)alignments between multiple disaster cultures, the Indonesia Tsunami Early Warning System (InaTEWS) and local risk profiles as revealed by the 2018 non-tectonic tsunami triggered by the Anak Krakatau Volcanic eruption in Labuan. The research assessed to what extent the tsunami warning system was adapted to local needs and characteristics. Based on qualitative data collection, this study showed that before the 2018 tsunami (and notwithstanding memories of the 1883 Krakatau tsunami) different local groups shared a strikingly homogeneous understanding of tsunamis as exclusively triggered by earthquakes. After the 2018 tsunami, study participants reported increased awareness of different tsunami types and earthquake risks. However, this rarely translated into practical actions and changes at the local level as structural and cultural factors significantly hampered the work of local government and emergency management agencies. This research identified steps to improve alignment, for example by involving community members in warning technology maintenance, tailoring awareness-raising materials to local hazard profiles and connecting awareness-raising with local cultural traditions. However, a reform of the InaTEWS is necessary, including overcoming sectoral silos and incorporating local knowledge and experiences into policymaking. By addressing these (mis)alignments, authorities can better support communities to understand tsunami risks and respond to future event, ultimately enhancing preparedness.

Empowering Riverine Communities in the Amazon: Strategies for Preventing Rabies.

Rabies, caused by the Lyssavirus genus, is a highly lethal zoonotic disease transmitted by animals such as bats and domestic and wild carnivores to humans, claiming nearly 100% of lives. In Brazil, recent evidence suggests an increasing role of bats in human deaths from rabies, particularly in the Amazon region. This neglected tropical disease disproportionately affects impoverished and vulnerable populations in rural areas, where approximately 80% of human cases are concentrated. This article presents research conducted in riverine communities of the Tapajós/Arapiuns Extractive Reserve in Brazil to combat rabies in September 2022. The study adopted a participatory and collaborative approach, involving community members, healthcare professionals, and educators. Prioritizing proactive interventions, the health team administered prophylactic vaccinations to 30 individuals residing in communities exposed to the Lyssavirus. Educational activities focused on dispelling myths and raising awareness about preventive measures, with 100% of individuals reporting prior doubts about the disease, emphasizing the essential nature of the clarification, especially regarding preventive aspects. This study underscores the importance of community involvement, personalized interventions, and ongoing education to effectively combat rabies. By reinforcing public health policies and promoting health education, we can empower communities to take proactive measures in rabies prevention, leading to a reduction in incidence and an improvement in quality of life.

Improving Surveillance in a Barangay: A Study on Assessing Needs for Designing Optimal Closed-Circuit Television Camera Placement

This study aimed to conduct a needs assessment in order to design a CCTV camera placement plan in a barangay to enhance community safety and security. Employing a descriptive research design, the study involved 300 randomly selected respondents from a barangay in Talugtug, Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The results of the needs assessment underscored the importance of developing a CCTV camera placement plan for the barangay. The researcher proposed to develop a plan that aims to provide measures to improve safety and security within the community. Based on the needs assessment that has been conducted, several recommendations were drawn. Firstly, it was strongly advised to design a CCTV camera placement plan in the barangay. A follow-up study may be conducted focusing on this aspect. Future researchers must strategically place the CCTV in the area to optimize its full potential for securing the community. Secondly, community engagement and collaboration were highlighted as crucial factors for successful implementation, emphasizing the importance of involving community members, stakeholders, and educational institutions in the planning process. Thus, when designing a strategic CCTV placement plan, the involvement of various stakeholders is highly encouraged. Further, allocating resources for installation, maintenance, and monitoring was also proposed to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the surveillance system. Lastly, continuous evaluation and improvement of the CCTV camera placement plan when implemented is highly recommended, emphasizing the need for regular reviews, resident feedback, and performance monitoring to optimize the system's functionality. These recommendations provide valuable guidance for barangay officials in their pursuit of enhanced safety and security. By implementing the proposed plan that may be developed through this study and considering the input of the community, the barangay can create a safer environment and promote a sense of security among its residents.

A Seat at Whose Table? Analyzing Detroit’s Community Benefit Ordinance as a Tool for Environmental Justice

The Environmental Protection Agency defines environmental justice as the “just treatment and meaningful involvement” of all people in the decisionmaking that affects the environment and human health. Since the origins of the modern American environmental justice movement in the 1980s, activists have emphasized the importance of self-determination. Environmental justice requires that decision making processes center the voices of the individuals impacted by decisions made about the distributions of environmental assets and harms. There is a significant challenge, however, in designing community engagement practices that meaningfully involve community members. Since the 1990s, community benefits agreements have been heralded as an effective tool of community and grassroots control over development projects. In 2016, Detroit became the first city in the country to adopt an ordinance mandating the use of community benefits agreements in qualifying developments. This Note endeavors to analyze Detroit’s community benefits ordinance as a tool for achieving environmental justice by examining where the ordinance succeeds in empowering community control over environmental decision making and falls short of this potential. Examining Detroit’s community benefits ordinance in the context of the larger environmental justice movement provides a rich opportunity to consider what communities stand to gain, and lose, when public participation is funneled through formalized legal processes, and what avenues environmental justice activists can explore to ensure that community members are meaningfully involved in decisions that intimately impact them.

Community health practice: the Nigerian model

The Nigerian model of community health practice is a unique approach to healthcare delivery that emphasizes the involvement of community members in the planning and implementation of healthcare services. This model is based on the principle that healthcare should be accessible, affordable, and equitable for all members of the community. This review focused on the Nigerian model of community health practice yesterday, today, and in the future. Findings indicated that the Nigerian model of community health practice was established in 1978 and is characterized by the use of community health practitioners who have acquired National Diplomas, Higher National Diploma, Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. degrees in Community Health. They are licensed by the Community Health Practitioners Registration Board of Nigeria to provide basic healthcare services such as health education, preventive care, treatment of common illnesses, maternal and child health services, and family planning at primary health centers and community levels. While the model of community health practice has faced significant challenges, including inadequate funding, lack of infrastructure, and a shortage of trained personnel, it has demonstrated promising results in improving healthcare access and outcomes in rural communities. The Nigerian Model of community health practice holds important lessons for other countries seeking to strengthen their primary healthcare systems.

The Effect of Innovation Diffusion Communication on Community Participation in the Kampung Zakat Program, Bunga Raya District, Siak Regency

Low public awareness of the obligation to tithe is one of the motivations and ideas in the emergence of the Kampung Zakat Program. The efforts to develop the Kampung Zakat Program carried out by the government and the people of Bunga Raya District cannot be separated from the participation and active involvement of community members. The main capital in the implementation of the Zakat Village Program is the expertise of the facilitator or amil zakat in communicating and innovating, so as to generate community participation in development and want to participate in activities as well as take part in zakat. The aim of this study was to find out and analyze how much influence innovation diffusion communication has on community participation in the Kampung Zakat Program, Bunga Raya Village, Siak Regency. This research use quantitative research with assosiative design. Data collection techniques by observation, interviews, distributing questionnaires and documentation. Sampling used the slovin technique and a total sample of 98 people was obtained from 4433 total populations from UPZ members of Bunga Raya District and the community involved in the Zakat Village Program. The results showed that from the hypothesis test there was a significant influence between the X and Y variables with a significant value of 0.000 <0.05, and a T valuecount>Ttable (30,677 > 1,985) and the percentage contribution of the variable effect is 90.7%.

East Toronto Health Partners: Collaborating on Quality Improvement

Developing a shared quality agenda has led to a new focus on population health within our community in East Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Amidst pandemic recovery, community members often struggle to access care. Health care organizations are challenged to support patient flow and mental health needs, and to catch up on preventative care and chronic disease management that was delayed due to reduced in-person care. One might think that these pressures would sideline quality improvement (QI) work, however we’ve seen new energy generated by QI capacity-building and application of rapid learning cycles to address our shared challenges. 
 Ontario Health Team context
 An Ontario Health Team is “a group of collaborative partners (organizations and individuals who offer health services, social services, and other health-relevant activities) brought together under a collaborative governance framework… to work with, and be accountable for, the health and wellbeing of a well-defined Attributed Population.” This context generates motivation for organizations and stakeholders to work closely on quality initiatives. Quality improvement activities form part of a larger rapid-learning health system strategy that includes program evaluation, evidence-based best practices in frontline care, and business intelligence efforts.
 Approaches within our QI Collaboration
 -Collecting and sharing patient experience measures as part of Best Practice Guideline implementation for Person & Family-Centred Care;
 -Strengthening involvement of community members; co-creating our 2022 collaborative Quality Improvement Plan with diverse partners;
 -Accessing and reflecting on baseline data for our defined population, and building capacity for local analytics. Together with other Ontario Health Teams, we have outlined requirements for data and tools to support population health management;
 -Focusing on priority neighbourhoods to improve health equity; and building QI capacity with teams of Community Health Ambassadors within those neighbourhoods.
 Key Learnings
 Patient Experience: We grounded our work in person- and family-centred care; respecting the voices of patients and caregivers in reporting their level of involvement in care plans and treatment. Collaboration among partners uncovered examples of best practice in patient experience data collection and moved us toward data collection as an integrated system of care (beyond surveys conducted within individual organizations). 
 Patient Flow: Our collaboration led us to focus “upstream,” and to strengthen our ability to identify unmet needs for clients in community settings. A strengths-based assessment across collaborating organizations helped to increase awareness of diverse assets within our community and examples of leadership in Seniors-Friendly Care. We are launching transdisciplinary teams dedicated to responsive support for transitions in care. 
 Preventative Care: An equity approach was key. In addition to primary care practice-based improvement initiatives (e.g. cancer screening) we prioritized efforts to reach vulnerable groups, such as individuals without a family doctor, and those with barriers to navigating health services in English. Rapid-cycle improvement and evaluation plans (co-designed with community members) are helping to ensure that service offerings are addressing the needs of the community.
 RESULT: The East Toronto Health Partners’ collaborative Quality Improvement work has helped our Ontario Health Team to align and integrate work across multiple organizations – building our capabilities for proactive population health management.

Strengthening a Dutch initiative with action research; community involvement one of the key stumbling blocks

Introduction: There is a strong call from integrated care initiatives for practical guidance, including translating existing scientific knowledge into the local context. This covers several themes such as regional governance, adjusting payment models, and community involvement. In the presented project, we used an action research approach to support the team of HealthKIC implementing the ‘Kavelmodel’ in the Netherlands. HealthKIC supports regions that are willing to change using a population health management approach by facilitating the implementation together with stakeholders on all levels. The Kavelmodel focusses on improving the health and wellbeing of the population of the involved regions, ‘Vallei Vitaal & Gezond’ and ‘8terhoek Gezond’ for now. 
 Methods: Together with the HealthKIC-team we co-designed an action research process looking to evaluate the tools and approaches that were used by the HealthKIC-team to enable key themes and issues in the regions and with system-level stakeholders. Working with an emergent paradigm perspective in this complex and dynamic environment, we attempted to balance the flexibility in the process to adapt to emergent circumstances, while still have the ability to validate the findings. The process focussed on exchanging knowledge and lessons learned between science and practice using learning cycles. 
 Results: While all above-mentioned themes were discussed, one key stumbling block was community engagement. Using several learning cycles in different settings, we were able to continuously stress the importance of it, share knowledge and practical examples, and discuss next steps. However, both system-level stakeholders and regional stakeholders remained reluctant to adopt a form of community involvement and haven’t implemented it yet. The actual doing, listening to community members and hand over some control, was perceived the most difficult and crucial aspect for stakeholders on all levels. Reflection sessions about this theme revealed the main reason for not taking action was feeling insecure about how to progress. As was seen with other themes, this hesitation often led to people falling back into old habits and working on other day-to-day tasks. 
 Discussion: As is evidenced by the literature and practice, community involvement often remains theoretical. We tried out a new way of working using learning cycles to provide practical guidance, but it didn’t result in effective implementation of community involvement yet. Having the knowledge of the importance of and how to involve community members proved to be not enough. Therefore, we still need to search for the most effective strategy to include community members successfully in these kind of initiatives. One of the lessons learned is that it is important is to consider the attitude and commitment of the stakeholders involved. The project leaders need to feel supported by them to take action. Next to that, the community involvement needs to fit within the bigger picture of the initiative, supported by a joint vision, sustainable resources, and a learning environment. These are crucial insights into why community involvement is still lacking. Looking forward, having PHM-coaches in the region could bring the necessary assurance for people to work differently and in new and unexpected circumstances.

THE PROMISE AND CHALLENGES OF GERONTOLOGISTS WHO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE OF COMMUNITY-ENGAGED RESEARCH

Abstract Our aging population demands more responsive policies and services and calls for a shift from involving older adults as individual participants toward collaborating with or empowering their communities as research partners. Knowing how to build capacity for community-engaged research (CEnR) among gerontologists requires understanding the challenges of such endeavors. A survey was distributed to gerontologists in March 2021 to December 2022, and was supplemented by a brainstorming focus group. We received responses from academic faculty, staff, students, and trainees (n=98) representing multiple academic disciplines from community health and implementation science to behavioral and social sciences. Many identified as a minoritized person (57.7%) and used mixed methods (55.1%). Focus group findings revealed challenges around community and participant recruitment, sustaining relationships, low-resource contexts and recognition. These reflected concerns around time, work, and funding – three most commonly-occurring words in survey responses. Barriers articulated include, “the time it takes to cultivate real relationships with community partners to design and carry out research together,” “confusion among academic colleagues on how this work is scholarship,” and a “lack of understanding and recognition from universities and funding agencies.” To more effectively mobilize knowledge and remain relevant, institutions would do well to heed calls for training on involving community members as co-researchers (78.6%), learning about rapidly developing CEnR methodologies (75.3%), and sustaining successful intervention programs after grant funding has ended (70.4%) among other priorities. This study provides critical insight into the landscape of CEnR among gerontologists and may be used to develop more supportive programs and structures.

Appraisal of Mobile Apps for Communication and Collaboration among Construction Project Teams

Purpose: The construction industry faces communication and collaboration challenges, leading to delays, errors, and increased costs. This study investigates the impact and effectiveness of mobile apps in enhancing internal and external communication and collaboration in the construction industry.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: The research design consisted of five phases: familiarisation with the study topic, literature search for construction apps, selection of apps, assessment and categorisation of apps, and validation of app functionality. The selection of apps was based on their versatility, capability to perform multiple tasks, market popularity, relevance to communication and collaboration, readability, and range of functions. Empirical study articles were used to validate and assess the functionalities claimed by the app developers.
 Findings: Out of the 65 mobile apps evaluated, only 12 met the exclusion criteria for assessing the practicality of their functions through empirical evidence. Mobile apps like Slack, Microsoft Teams, SmartBidNet, and Basecamp have the potential to significantly enhance communication, collaboration, and decision-making processes in the construction industry.
 The Research Limitation: The study identified and evaluated only 12 mobile apps out of 65, based on the exclusion criteria established to evaluate the practicality of the applications' functions through empirical evidence. This limited sample size may not fully represent the range of mobile apps available for communication and collaboration in the construction industry.
 Practical Implication: The mobile apps to be used by project team members have the potential to replace traditional methods, particularly for geographically dispersed teams, leading to improved project efficiency and accuracy.
 Social Implication: Mobile apps facilitate real-time communication with local communities, allowing construction projects to address concerns and involve community members in the decision-making process.
 Originality/value: The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing insights into the availability, accessibility, and competencies of mobile apps in improving internal and external communication and collaboration within the construction industry.