Public Engagement Efforts Research Articles

Toward a public outreach and community engagement strategy on cancer in Newfoundland and Labrador: an initial road map and recommendations

Abstract Background: The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the highest incidence and mortality rates for cancer among the Canadian provinces. Sharing accessible knowledge on cancer is an important part of cancer control and population health efforts. However, bringing useful health information and knowledge exchange events to residents requires an efficient and accessible system. Objectives: We aimed to create a road map and recommendations for effective public outreach and community engagement on cancer in Newfoundland and Labrador. Methods: We used the following information, experience, or public engagement tools to gather information to inform our work: discussions with the members of the Public Interest Group on Cancer Research, researchers' experiences with recruitment and knowledge translation activities, feedback provided to 2 public conferences delivered (Public Conference on Genetics delivered in 2020 and Public Conference on Cancer delivered in 2022—where the target audience was general public), and 2 public town halls (one in-person, one virtual) and 2 individual consultation sessions with key stakeholders. Information gathered was then summarized. Results: We identified a rich set of cancer-related topics for which to organize public events on cancer. In addition, a large number of public outreach and engagement options were identified, emphasizing the fragmented, inefficient, and resource-intensive nature of public outreach and community engagement efforts in the province. Based on the information collected, we developed an initial road map and recommendations to inform future public engagement activities and strategies. In addition, our group has started to implement the road map for our current and future public engagement activities. Conclusions: We present key cancer-related topics that are of public interest and issues and opportunities for recruitment and delivery of knowledge and events to residents of Newfoundland and Labrador. This information can be useful for researchers, organizations, and the health care system in the province. However, more inclusive consultations, larger collaborations, funding, and systematic data collection are needed to build a province-wide public outreach network on cancer and to identify more comprehensive public engagement options. The work presented here can potentially guide these efforts. Our work is also expected to inspire other provinces, states, and communities to assess their public outreach status and help develop road maps co-led by patients to progress their public engagement efforts in cancer.

Extreme heat & public perception in Portland, Oregon: Evidence of a compounding vulnerability effect for climate hazards

Extreme heat events are a global public health threat, and the frequency of these events are projected to increase significantly in the coming decades. Responding to extreme heat requires that municipalities communicate with public audiences. Generally speaking, risk communication and public engagement efforts are more effective when they are responsive to current risk perception trends. This social scientific study examines extreme heat risk perceptions, emergency response needs, and level of trust in first responders among residents of the Portland (OR) Metro Area. Using quantitative survey data, it demonstrates the compounding influence of three previously identified vulnerability indicators–poverty, disability, and race–on public perception surrounding extreme heat and environmental emergencies. Results show these vulnerability indicators have a significant compounding effect on public perception, such that an increased number of vulnerability indicators is associated with greater anticipated harm from extreme heat, higher anticipated need in the event of an environmental emergency, and lower trust in first responders. Firefighters and medical providers were the most trusted first responders across all vulnerability groups. Guidelines for public engagement and recommendations for future social scientific research are discussed.

Reconceptualising Barriers to Engagement with Climate Change

This paper contributes to the discourse on climate change by emphasising the imperative for inclusive engagement, particularly at the intersection of socio-economic challenges and climate impacts in Glasgow, Scotland. Despite recent shifts towards a ‘Just Transition’ and increased public engagement efforts, working-class voices remain marginalised. To address this gap, the paper first reviews existing literature on Climate Change Communication (CCC), examining some of the competing conceptualisations of barriers and public engagement and their policy implications, and more specifically, participatory policymaking and its role in engagement. Through doing so, the central debates of how public engagement with climate change ought to be pursued will be established, and to what degree this can be understood in the context of developing engagement with working-class people. Subsequently, it proposes a novel framework synthesising insights from Lorenzoni, Sutton, and Tobin utilising an ecological Marxist perspective that aims to address barriers to climate change engagement among the working class.

Barriers and drivers of public engagement in palliative care, Scoping review

BackgroundThe integral model of Palliative Care recognizes the community as essential element in improving quality of life of patients and families. It is necessary to find a formula that allows the community to have a voice. The aim of this scoping review is to identify barriers and facilitators to engage community in PC.MethodsSystematic search was conducted in NICE, Cochrane Library, Health Evidence, CINAHL and PubMed database. Keywords: Palliative care, End of life care, community networks, community engagement, public engagement, community participation, social participation, barriers and facilitators.ResultsNine hundred seventy-one results were obtained. Search strategy and inclusion criteria yielded 13 studies that were read in detail to identify factors influencing community engagement in palliative care, categorized into: Public health and public engagement; Community attitudes towards palliative care, death and preferences at the end of life; Importance of volunteers in public engagement programs; Compassionate communities.ConclusionSocietal awareness must be a facilitated process to catalyse public engagement efforts. National policy initiatives and regional system support provide legitimacy and focus is essential for funding. The first step is to get a sense of what is important to society, bearing in mind cultural differences and to channel those aspects through health care professionals; connecting the most assistential part with community resources. The process and long-term results need to be systematically evaluated.

Public support for Antarctic science: lessons from a national survey of Australians

AbstractWith the Antarctic region featuring more and more in discourse around anthropogenic climate change, understanding public support for research in the region is increasingly important. We examine public support for Antarctic science in Australia, drawing on findings from a nationally representative survey of just over 1000 adults conducted in 2021–2022. Key results reinforce earlier findings in other national contexts - for example, that older people and men are more likely to support Antarctic scientific research than younger people and women. They also reveal new information, including a correlation between particular sources of media coverage and support for Antarctic research. Our data have implications for where and how the public engagement efforts of government agencies and non-governmental organizations could most usefully be applied. While the survey is focused on Australia, it points to complexities around public support for Antarctic research that could be productively investigated in other national and in international contexts.

Why the World Needs Bioethics Communication

This essay argues for the importance of formalizing public engagement efforts around bioethics as something we might call "bioethics communication," and it outlines the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics' plans for engaging in this effort. Because science is complex and difficult to explain to nonexperts, the field of science communication has arisen to meet this need. The field involves both a practice and a subject of empirical research. Like science, bioethics is also complex and difficult to explain, which is why the world needs bioethics communication. The authors are engaged in a brand-new effort to establish the sort of public bioethics efforts that would constitute bioethics communication, through a program which they call the Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab. The authors invite colleagues to experiment and learn with them as they invest in the development of bioethics communicators and their products.

Understanding public perceptions of chemical recycling: A comparative study of public attitudes towards coal and waste gasification in Germany and the United Kingdom

Despite the recognised importance of public acceptance for the success of industrial technologies, little is known about public attitudes towards chemical recycling. We address this gap by investigating the nature of public attitudes towards gasification. Gasification, a form of chemical recycling, can be used to convert carbonaceous wastes into feedstocks that can be used to produce a variety of products (e.g., plastics and transportation fuels) and is seen as a means of supporting the transition towards a circular carbon economy. Using an online questionnaire distributed to diverse samples of the public in Germany ( n = 318) and the UK ( n = 327), we assessed participants' attitudes towards gasification after exposure to a short informative video about either coal- or waste-based gasification. These countries were selected as both have advanced chemical recycling industries, but also evidence historic differences in public perceptions of carbon-related technologies. Results show that initial self-reported awareness and knowledge of gasification were very low, although improved by the video. Participants in both countries were generally positive about gasification, particularly waste-based gasification. Mediation analysis indicated that this preference was explained by a stronger positive and weaker negative affective response to the technology, as well as a stronger belief that waste-based gasification is a ‘green’ technology option that was worthy of investment. Trust in developers was identified as a direct predictor of attitudes towards gasification. The study complements the ongoing techno-economic-ecological evaluations of gasification technologies and has implications for the development of public engagement and communication efforts.

Beyond policy patrons: A ‘MADE’ framework for examining public engagement efforts of philanthropic foundations on Twitter

This study conceptualises four mechanisms—Mobilisation, Advocacy, Dialogue, and Education ('MADE')—through which foundation actors engage the public on Twitter. We analysed stakeholders targeted and message contents of more than 16,000 tweets collected from 299 Twitter accounts of U.S. community foundations during two 12-month periods. We found evidence that foundations tend to serve as 'a knowledge hub' to educate the public. Notably, the 2020 sample suggests lessened dialogic messages yet increased mobilisation and advocacy messages amid the COVID-19 pandemic and political movements. This study reveals foundations’ intermediary and shifting roles in engaging the public in times of normalcy and crisis.

139 Engaging the public in bidirectional communications to increase research literacy and improve the health of Indiana residents through All IN for Health

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: All IN for Health has initiated social media engagement strategies to create bi-directional communication around improved health and research literacy with the public. In addition, the All IN for Healths community-led advisory board, comprised of diverse individuals and organizations, will provide insight on research design and dissemination. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: The Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) has committed to enhancing the publics engagement efforts in the All IN for Health program. This program was established in 2017 to improve the health of Indiana residents through the promotion of health resources and opportunities to participate in research. In 2021, the Indiana CTSI decided to integrate public engagement more formally. An official collaboration with the Indiana CTSIs Community Health Partnerships program was created, a digital engagement specialist was hired, and several new community and population health advisory board members were welcomed for quarterly meetings representing the rural and urban areas of the state, faith-based communities, health departments, and underrepresented groups in research. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: A social media campaign, informed by the All IN for Health advisory board was launched in November 2021, and the advisory board has been meeting on a quarterly basis. All IN for Healths established priority area is currently COVID-19 vaccination uptake, and our prioritized audiences are underserved and under resourced in urban and rural communities, and minoritized populations. All IN for Health has posted approximately 20 times per month on topics including COVID-19, Alzeheimers Disease, Diabetes, fitness, mental health, and research studies with a goal to increase followers and engagements by 20%. The hope is that this engagement will also result in an increase in the monthly e-newsletter subscribers and study volunteer registry participants. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: All IN for Health has initiated new public engagement efforts to increase the value of the services offered to Indiana residents. Through consultation and co-design with members of the public and dissemination of research opportunities All IN for Health will be better suited to improve health and research literacy.

Piloting a Regional Scale Ocean Literacy Survey in Fife

Ocean Literacy (OL) encapsulates the journey of improved awareness of marine and coastal issues, to the adoption of clear values and attitudes based on that knowledge, and intentional lifestyle and other personal choices at an individual and societal level. Understanding a community or group’s position in this transition enables institutions, such as universities, charities or civil society organisations, to target their public engagement efforts to make progress toward a healthier marine environment. To gather a baseline of OL in Fife, Scotland, an online survey was launched to residents of the Local Authority Area, between the 8th May and 30th June 2021. Responses indicated widespread uncertainty about solutions to marine and coastal problems, prompting the promotion of a solutions-based focus for public engagement efforts, particularly regarding local issues. While there was common agreement that the government, businesses and citizens could be doing more to advance the health of the marine environment and climate, only 55% of respondents had already made some changes to their lifestyles with the intention to continue at the point of survey. Some barriers evidently remain. Concern for the marine environment, climate and future generations largely govern the desire to alter behaviour to reap the desired benefits which include the enjoyment of nature, cultural heritage and aids to mental health. Taking a “nested approach” to OL surveying (regional surveys within a national framework) is likely to improve response rates and amplify the voices of rural and coastal communities. Furthermore, the OL surveying platform may opportunistically serve as a useful tool for investigating public priorities in the early stages of marine planning and policy development.

Stewardship after delisting: Sustaining long-term progress in Michigan’s Areas of Concern

The Michigan Areas of Concern (AOC) program has made significant progress in recent years following the influx of external funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Great Lakes Legacy Act. However, as more AOCs near delisting, community members from Michigan Public Advisory Councils (PACs) are concerned that the loss of programmatic funding will constrain their ability to sustain key public engagement and long-term restoration progress. In order to understand the local community perspectives surrounding delisting, our study presents findings and recommendations that emerged from interviews with Michigan PAC members. We found that PACs recognize the need to transition away from projects with a short-term focus and instead prioritize longer-term, holistic strategies that could help catalyze effective public engagement and produce transformative community revitalization. This study’s recommendations for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) include: (1) dedicating more time to post-delisting planning, (2) enhancing communication efforts with PACs, and (3) strengthening long-term public engagement efforts and PAC organizational capacity. These recommendations add to the growing literature supporting the value of local community perspectives and social dimensions of environmental restoration and may also provide transferable insights to communities outside of Michigan that are currently engaged in similar complex, multi-stakeholder environmental restoration projects.

Why the World Needs Bioethics Communication

This essay argues for the importance of formalizing public engagement efforts around bioethics as something we might call “bioethics communication,” and it outlines the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics’ plans for engaging in this effort. Because science is complex and difficult to explain to nonexperts, the field of science communication has arisen to meet this need. The field involves both a practice and a subject of empirical research. Like science, bioethics is also complex and difficult to explain, which is why the world needs bioethics communication. The authors are engaged in a brand-new effort to establish the sort of public bioethics efforts that would constitute bioethics communication, through a program which they call the Dracopoulos-Bloomberg iDeas Lab. The authors invite colleagues to experiment and learn with them as they invest in the development of bioethics communicators and their products.

Engaged minority or quiet majority? Social intentions and actions related to offshore wind energy development in the United States

This research examines the possibility of spatial variability of resident social action relative to the potential for offshore wind energy development in a subregion of the United States. Data were collected via a random household survey within coastal populations of North and South Carolina adjacent to proposed offshore wind energy development. Cluster analysis is used to create subgroups based on awareness, support level, and intended action. Perceived impacts, place attachment, and demographic characteristics are then examined between these spatial clusters. Residents of cluster 1 are more likely to be aware of and opposed to offshore wind energy development efforts, as well as more likely to have engaged in past action and intend action than residents of cluster 2. After examination of these and other differences between the groups, the two clusters are termed the “engaged minority” and “quiet majority.” The authors then contextualize their findings to theorize the answers to two key questions: Why is the quiet majority less engaged and why is the engaged minority more opposed? Differences in awareness, opportunity, place attachment, perceived impacts, and demographics are explored, as are compounding barriers to social action, disenfranchisement, distrust, and perceived process fairness. Finally, management implications for potentially non-representative understandings of public opinion in energy development solutions are considered and recommendations for improved public engagement efforts related to offshore wind energy are discussed.

Communicating water availability to improve awareness and implementation of water conservation: A study of the 2018 and 2020 drought events in the Republic of Ireland

Public communication on water availability is pivotal in highlighting water conservation needs as droughts impact water resources for critical use, such as drinking water quality and accessibility. This paper presents the results of research into public communication on water availability and the implementation of water conservation measures in the Republic of Ireland. The paper analyses social media (Twitter and Facebook) communication and newspaper publications from 2018 to 2020 on water conservation and drought events, in addition, to undertaking six key stakeholder interviews made up of journalists (n = 4), political representatives (n = 1), and a water and communication expert (n = 1). Our analysis indicates that Irish newspapers' coverage of drought and water availability was greater in 2018 compared to 2020. Uncertainty and risk was also identified as the prevalent frame, used by newspapers to cover drought events. Although the sentiments in communications on drought by the national utility, Irish Water, were scored as positive (63%), its engagement with the public on social media was considerably limited. Accessible information platforms that provides data and information on water resources were also found; nevertheless, no comprehensive national drought information management system nor national drought plan have been developed. Based on our findings, we demonstrate the need for public engagement and collaborative efforts to communicate drought and water conservation measures led by An Fóram Uisce|The Water Forum. Recommendations made in this study also aim to influence decision-making and awareness among stakeholders regarding drought communication on water conservation and resources availability.

A new take on voice: the influence of BlackRock\u2019s \u2018Dear CEO\u2019 letters

We examine whether broad-based public engagement by institutional investors influences the behavior of portfolio firms. We investigate this question in the context of BlackRock’s annual Dear CEO letter, which in recent years has called for portfolio firms to acknowledge and quantify the impact of environmental and regulatory factors on their firms. We find that portfolio firms’ disclosures during the post-letter period reflect topics similar to those discussed in the letters, controlling for a variety of firm and disclosure characteristics and the occurrence of private engagements. Moreover, BlackRock appears to value these additional disclosures, as it more often votes with management on shareholder proposals during subsequent annual shareholder meetings. Finally, motivated by BlackRock’s attempts to mobilize firms toward its specific policy recommendations, we also provide some evidence that firms’ lobbying efforts during the post-letter period become more aligned with the issues highlighted in the letter, especially when firms’ share BlackRock’s policy preferences ex ante. Taken together, our evidence suggests that portfolio firms are responsive to BlackRock’s public engagement efforts.

Public engagement with clinical research on social media; which visual medium works best? A 5-year retrospective analysis

‘Public engagement’ describes a collaborative relationship between scientists and the public we serve. This has the potential to improve clinical research and is encouraged by key research funding bodies, however the objective evidence base for effective approaches remains limited. Social media algorithms determine what content users see and are known to weight post media differently. While visual content is understood to improve reach and engagement broadly, less is known about which kinds of visuals are most effective for engaging people with clinical research. We present a five year retrospective analysis of public engagement with Facebook posts made by an independent medical research institute, classified by their visual media content. Inclusion of visual post media was associated with positive effects on both reach and engagement. We present medium and strong evidence that this effect was most pronounced for comics compared to other visual media types. This data evidences objective value of using comics and other visual media for public engagement with clinical research. The metrics evaluated are easily accessible on many social media platforms meaning this approach could readily be applied by other researchers to measure the impact of their public engagement efforts, and inform science communication strategies and resource allocation.

The Native Bees of Texas: Evaluating the Benefits of a Public Engagement Course.

Simple SummaryAs concerns over bee population declines have entered the public consciousness worldwide, people are eager to learn about bees, the roles they play in our world, and how to conserve them. However, the public’s growing enthusiasm and efforts to conserve bees in North America are not always matched by their scientific knowledge of native bees. To satisfy a growing regional demand for knowledge about native bees, we have developed a public engagement program that aims to provide basic information about the native bees of Texas and their conservation guidelines based on science. At the University of Texas, Austin, we designed an outreach course with the objectives of teaching basic identification, diversity, ecology, and conservation of native bees and we implemented it on university botanical garden grounds. To gauge the course’s impact and quality, we integrated assessment tools into the course design. Evaluation results indicated that the course had a positive impact on participants who acquired specific topic knowledge and skills. The outreach course helped educate the public on native bees and benefitted participants, such as landowners and citizen scientists, who intended to apply their acquired knowledge and skills to specific conservation projects. It is relevant and timely to offer such courses, especially in regions that represent biodiversity hotspots for native bees and whose habitat is being fragmented and altered by rapid urbanization.Declines in native bee communities due to forces of global change have become an increasing public concern. Despite this heightened interest, there are few publicly available courses on native bees, and little understanding of how participants might benefit from such courses. In October of 2018 and 2019, we taught the ‘Native Bees of Texas’ course to the public at The University of Texas at Austin Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center botanical gardens in an active learning environment with slide-based presentations, printed photo-illustrated resources, and direct insect observations. In this study, we evaluated course efficacy and learning outcomes with a pre/post-course test, a survey, and open-ended feedback, focused on quality improvement findings. Overall, participants’ test scores increased significantly, from 60% to 87% correct answers in 2018 and from 64% to 87% in 2019, with greater post-course differences in ecological knowledge than in identification skills. Post-course, the mean of participants’ bee knowledge self-ratings was 4.56 on a five-point scale. The mean of participants’ ratings of the degree to which they attained the course learning objectives was 4.43 on a five-point scale. Assessment results provided evidence that the course enriched participants’ knowledge of native bee ecology and conservation and gave participants a basic foundation in bee identification. This highlights the utility of systematic course evaluations in public engagement efforts related to biodiversity conservation.

Challenges and opportunities for informal physics learning in the COVID era

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted every aspect of academic activity, including the informal education and public engagement efforts of physics departments and institutions. As part of a large-scale national survey of the landscape of informal physics education programs, we have conducted a series of short interviews with directors and facilitators for a variety of programs in order to create a snapshot of whether and how programs have been able to adapt to the challenges and risks of the pandemic. Broadly, we find that programs are struggling to maintain any activity at all, and that those programs still in operation have relied largely on the efforts of individual director or facilitators to make substantial adaptations. Additionally, we find that those programs that have been most successful in maintaining activity benefit from strong, ongoing institutional support;we present the findings of this study both to complement existing research on formal spaces and to advocate for the continued support of informal physics education, which continues to play a crucial role in connecting departments to the public.

Assessing public opinions on the likelihood and permissibility of gene editing through construal level theory

Anticipatory policy for gene editing requires assessing public opinion about this new technology. Although previous surveys have examined respondents’ views on the moral acceptability of various hypothetical uses of CRISPR, they have not considered whether these scenarios are perceived as plausible. Research in construal level theory indicates that participants make different moral judgments about scenarios seen as likely or near and those seen as unlikely or distant. Therefore, we surveyed a representative sample of 400 Americans and Canadians about both the likelihood and the permissibility of 23 commonly discussed uses of gene editing. Respondents with more knowledge of gene editing generally thought these applications would be more likely within the next 20 years. There was a strong positive relationship between the perceived likelihood and permissibility of most CRISPR applications. Our results suggest that ongoing public engagement efforts for gene editing could be improved by taking its perceived time-frames into account.

A New Take on Voice: The Influence of BlackRock’s 'Dear CEO' Letters

We examine whether broad-based public engagement by institutional investors influences the behavior of portfolio firms. We investigate this question in the context of BlackRock’s annual “Dear CEO” letter, which in recent years has called for portfolio firms to acknowledge and quantify the impact of environmental and regulatory factors on their firms. We find that portfolio firms’ disclosures reflect topics similar to those discussed in the letters during the post-letter period, controlling for a variety of firm and disclosure characteristics, and the occurrence of private engagements. Moreover, BlackRock appears to value these additional disclosures, as it more often votes with management on shareholder proposals during subsequent annual shareholder meetings. Finally, motivated by BlackRock’s attempts to mobilize firms toward its specific policy recommendations, we also provide some evidence that firms’ lobbying efforts become more aligned with the issues highlighted in the letter during the post-letter period, especially when firms’ share BlackRock’s policy preferences ex ante. Taken together, our evidence suggests that portfolio firms are responsive to BlackRock’s public engagement efforts.