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Background: The Flint water crisis (FWC) was a public health tragedy caused by crumbling infrastructure, subverted democracy, and indifference toward a predominantly poor and Black community that resulted in lead-in-water exposure, Legionnaires' disease, and emotional and health-related trauma. Through the cooperation of community partners, the Flint Registry (FR) was conceived to track long-term health and improve public health via service connections. Objectives: This study sought to share the FR's community-partnered, multi-tiered engagement strategy and determine the efficacy of this strategy to engage the community and reach Flint residents. Methods: Community engagement and impact were measured by collecting and describing feedback from the community engagement strategies and by comparing the demographics of the enrollees recruited through community-engaged recruitment (CER) and non-CER methods. Enroll-ees indicated how they heard about the FR; CER involved direct interaction with a community member. Results: Community engagement strategies incorporated approximately 1,200 people and 7 funded organizations, impacting 22 key areas of FR design and implementation. More than 50% of enrollees heard about the FR through CER methods. They were, on average, more likely to be younger, female, Black/African American, and living outside of Flint during the FWC. Conclusions: Community engagement elevated voices of those impacted by the FWC. CER methods were as effective as non-CER methods. Although there were no differences in screened measures of social vulnerability, there were in age, gender, and race. CER methods may increase participation and build trust in populations which historically are hesitant to participate in public health efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First Nation people residing in rural and remote communities have limited primary healthcare access, which often affects chronic disease management leading to poor health outcomes. Individuals with lived experiences of chronic disease and substance use, along with health directors, advocated for improved services. Subsequently, an urban healthcare team in partnership with four First Nation communities developed an Outreach clinic to address healthcare access barriers. Established in 2016, this community-led clinic improves primary care access and chronic disease management in First Nation communities. Employing a qualitative research design, interviews were conducted with 15 clinic providers and 9 community members to explore the clinic's 1-year post-implementation impacts. Thematic data analysis indicated that engagement and approval by community leadership, support from Elders and community members and collaboration with existing community healthcare staff were crucial for establishing the Outreach clinic. Initial logistical challenges with space allocation, equipment, medical supplies, funding, staffing, medical records and appointment scheduling were resolved through community consultation and creative solutions. A nurse coordinator ensured continuity of care and was integral to ensuring clients receive seamless care. The commitment of the outreach team and the collective goal of providing client-centered care were instrumental in the clinic's success. In partnership with communities, access to healthcare in First Nation communities can be enhanced by coordinating Outreach clinics through existing community healthcare facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This national study included a quantitative inquiry regarding the impact of COVID-19 on service-learning from 207 participants representing community partner organizations (n = 145) and higher education institutions (n = 62). Community partners reported a decreased number of students engaged in service-learning after the outbreak of COVID-19. Response patterns emerged between community partners and higher education participant groups. The perceived helpfulness of servicelearning for student success and fostering relationships differed statistically among the partner types--higher education participants rated these higher than community partners. Reasons for participating varied among partner types, and community partners identified volunteer procurement among the most helpful support higher education offers beyond service-learning. Changing policies, wearing masks, and virtual communication were cited as main adaptations to COVID-19 but prioritized differently among partners. This study uncovered the emerging and varied perspectives of higher education and community partners regarding service-learning at this significant time in history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An academic medical center library and community outreach office partnered with community-based organizations and public libraries to deliver patient empowerment workshops within the community. The workshops included information on reliable sources for health information and how to engage your medical provider as a partner in improving your health. The initial project expanded to include the creation of professional development workshops for area public librarians. The final stage of the project was the redesign of the academic library's website page to incorporate the community workshop content, including the creation of patient education videos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows spending time in nature improves both physical and mental well-being. Practitioner-based resources reveal libraries offer programs to increase access to natural experiences. However, there is a lack of research that explores specifically how this works. This study begins to fill this gap by providing initial insight into what libraries offer. StoryWalk® and outdoor storytimes were the most common type of nature program, and programs offered for all ages and families were most frequently mentioned in resources analyzed. To support this trend, additional research on what is happening in public libraries to support access to nature is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community advisory boards (CABs) are a valuable strategy for engaging and partnering with communities in research. Eighty-nine percent of Clinical and Translational Science Awardees (CTSA) responding to a 2011 survey reported having a CAB. CTSAs’ experiences with CABs are valuable for informing future practice. This study was conducted to describe common CAB implementation practices among CTSAs; document perceived benefits, challenges, and contributions; and examine their progress toward desirable outcomes. A cross-CTSA collaborative team collected survey data from respondents representing academic and/or community members affiliated with CTSAs with CABs. Data representing 44 CTSAs with CABs were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A majority of respondents reported practices reflecting respect for CAB members’ expertise and input such as compensation (75%), advisory purview beyond their CTSA’s Community Engagement program (88%), and influence over CAB operations. Three-quarters provide members with orientation and training on roles and responsibilities and 89% reported evaluating their CAB. Almost all respondents indicated their CTSA incorporates the feedback of their CABs to some degree; over half do so a lot or completely. This study profiles practices that inform CTSAs implementing a CAB and provide an evaluative benchmark for those with existing CABs.

Libraries are staples of the community. Yet, libraries are threatened everyday with the possibility of losing even more funding for staffing, services, and programs, or closing indefinitely due to budget cuts and decision-makers not understanding the value of libraries and librarians and library staff. While there may be fewer libraries in the future, libraries are here to stay. However, the role of librarians and libraries are changing. Whereas before, the library was a quiet place to study, a place to check out books, and a place to participate in storytime, libraries of the twenty-first century are becoming the place for all things related to people and customer service. Twenty-first-century librarianship is a business about serving the people. For the library to sustain itself, it must be the center of the community. Librarians must understand this notion. Library leaders must work collaboratively with community partners and citizens to transform their thinking and exceed expectations of the community. This chapter will discuss the role of librarians and libraries as change agents. This chapter will also share real examples of effective programs and services, why these programs and services are important, and ways one may implement these program models at their library. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions continue to be increasingly interested in examining how social entrepreneurship and community engaged approaches to education can work together. In light of the recent growth and interest in such programs, scholars and educators have called for attention to specific considerations when developing SE and community-based education, which can be summed up in three areas - pedagogy, relationships, and impact. The present essay builds on such propositions, and calls for a critically-orientated approach to SE, grounded in community engagement, collaborative dialogue among diverse voices, and a commitment to transforming oppressive structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community advisory boards (CABs) are a valuable strategy for engaging and partnering with communities in research. Eighty-nine percent of Clinical and Translational Science Awardees (CTSA) responding to a 2011 survey reported having a CAB. CTSAs' experiences with CABs are valuable for informing future practice. This study was conducted to describe common CAB implementation practices among CTSAs; document perceived benefits, challenges, and contributions; and examine their progress toward desirable outcomes. A cross-CTSA collaborative team collected survey data from respondents representing academic and/or community members affiliated with CTSAs with CABs. Data representing 44 CTSAs with CABs were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A majority of respondents reported practices reflecting respect for CAB members' expertise and input such as compensation (75%), advisory purview beyond their CTSA's Community Engagement program (88%), and influence over CAB operations. Three-quarters provide members with orientation and training on roles and responsibilities and 89% reported evaluating their CAB. Almost all respondents indicated their CTSA incorporates the feedback of their CABs to some degree; over half do so a lot or completely. This study profiles practices that inform CTSAs implementing a CAB and provide an evaluative benchmark for those with existing CABs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community engagement is commonly imbedded in the ethos of institutions of higher education and has been identified as a High Impact Practice for student learning and retention. The Sustained Engagement Experiences in Kinesiology (SEEK) program at the University of La Verne is a curriculum-wide approach that moves students through four stages of community engagement: Respect, Participating with Effort, Self-Directions, and Leadership. The stages are developmentally sequenced across the curriculum and provide opportunities for learners to move from passive participants to active engagement scholars. The engagement experiences serve to enhance students' abilities to transfer what they learn in the classroom to real-life problems, foster an asset-based approach to community engagement, and facilitate a transition from surface- to deep-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals' attitudes about persons with disability (PwD) strongly affect differentlyabled persons' quality of life and position in society. Some research offers support for the ability of systematic, supported, longitudinal contact between different groups of individuals to improve attitudes. College campuses, in particular, offer a potentially useful arena in which to facilitate this type of contact. This study explored contextual factors (eg, geographic region, biological sex) and predictors of disability-related attitudes among a college student population to determine strategies for course-based intervention design (eg, as community-engaged or service-learning initiatives). Surveying participants from universities in two regions of the United States, we found that self-esteem, audience-based communication apprehension, and contact with PwD explain more than 50% of the variance in disability-related attitudes. Further, we found that geographic location affects both self-esteem and audience-based communication apprehension (communicating/interacting with PwD). We discuss the implications for community engagement and/or service learning and highlight the importance of partnerships among relevant community stakeholders, including university faculty, students, and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the topic of community engagement in public libraries has been researched in urban public library systems, little research explores community engagement in rural library systems. The Canadian province of Nova Scotia is largely rural and sparsely populated, with a dwindling and aging rural population. This report examines how community engagement can connect Nova Scotia’s rural public libraries with their communities. Librarians from eight predominantly rural library systems across the province were interviewed regarding the community engagement practices currently being used within their libraries and how their patrons (particularly youth) were reacting and responding to these practices. This article synthesizes the information derived from these interviews and provides a summary of the community engagement efforts being made throughout Nova Scotia. This study ultimately determines that while librarians in rural communities face a number of challenges when attempting to implement community engagement (e.g., small budgets and low staffing numbers), they remain extremely passionate about the topic and dedicated to serving their communities in the most meaningful and relevant way possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research indicates that communities can be engaged at various levels in research to reduce youth violence. In this paper, we argue that the method of power sharing among partners is a central factor distinguishing different levels of engagement. Using cases from the Nashville Urban Partnership Academic Center of Excellence, we identify community initiation and community collaboration as distinct approaches to community engaged violence prevention research. The power relationships among partners are analyzed to highlight differences in the types of engagement and to discuss implications for establishing and sustaining community partnerships. Also, the implications of levels of engagement for promoting the use of evidence-based practices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the fundamental role that strong community partnerships play in successful recruitment and retention of program participants; prevention program implementation; program sustainability; and institutionalization of prevention strategies throughout the community. Our study revolves around the community engagement process that provided the foundation for the successful implementation of an adolescent pregnancy prevention program in a predominantly minority, low-income community. The community has long had high teen birth rates and a history of fragmented, short-lived partnerships with outside organizations. But the study found that a deliberate approach that uses a well-planned, well-executed strategy to build on existing community assets and partnerships, as well as create new ones, is a key factor in successful program implementation. This article identifies core principles and strategies that support strong community partnerships and specific engagement techniques that build, maintain, and sustain these vital relationships. Finally, it presents a broader model of community change that comes from the strong engagement of multiple partners. The information shared is intended to assist programs and their sponsoring organizations in achieving greater success in developing and nurturing strong relationships with individual community members, as well as stakeholders and gatekeepers in schools, civic organizations, the faith community, businesses, and other health and human services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with chronic illnesses have improved physiological and psychosocial outcomes when they are able to identify and converse with others who experience the same challenges. Support groups are one way to enhance this interaction. To facilitate this process, student nurses worked with an interprofessional healthcare team, thalassemia patients, and their families to determine their support needs. The purpose of this article is to describe the innovative development and outcomes of the Thalassemia Patient Support Project, a community engagement partnership. This partnership provided a unique educational clinical experience for nursing students where they had an opportunity to help develop a support group and a pediatric to adult transitional care program. The outcomes could be used as a guide for community nursing education, in US and international settings. • Community health nursing is on the leading edge of healthcare reform. • Interprofessional teamwork develops student skills needed by the professional nurse. • Novel sites allow public health nursing students to work with underserved groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]