Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context
Community-engaged research is understood as existing on a continuum from less to more community engagement, defined by participation and decision-making authority. It has been widely assumed that more is better than less engagement. However, we argue that what makes for good community engagement is...
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doaj-c1f695fc918e4b4aba4fe96495b5c1ab2020-11-25T02:30:03ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1660-46012020-02-01174118710.3390/ijerph17041187ijerph17041187Aligning Community-Engaged Research to ContextJonathan K. London0Krista A. Haapanen1Ann Backus2Savannah M. Mack3Marti Lindsey4Karen Andrade5UC Davis Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USADepartment of Human and Organizational Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USAHarvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USAUC Davis Center for Health and the Environment, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USASchool of Pharmacy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USAStanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USACommunity-engaged research is understood as existing on a continuum from less to more community engagement, defined by participation and decision-making authority. It has been widely assumed that more is better than less engagement. However, we argue that what makes for good community engagement is not simply the extent but the fit or alignment between the intended approach and the various contexts shaping the research projects. This article draws on case studies from three Community Engagement Cores (CECs) of NIEHS-funded Environmental Health Science Core Centers (Harvard University, UC Davis and University of Arizona,) to illustrate the ways in which community engagement approaches have been fit to different contexts and the successes and challenges experienced in each case. We analyze the processes through which the CECs work with researchers and community leaders to develop place-based community engagement approaches and find that different strategies are called for to fit distinct contexts. We find that alignment of the scale and scope of the environmental health issue and related research project, the capacities and resources of the researchers and community leaders, and the influences of the sociopolitical environment are critical for understanding and designing effective and equitable engagement approaches. These cases demonstrate that the types and degrees of alignment in community-engaged research projects are dynamic and evolve over time. Based on this analysis, we recommend that CBPR scholars and practitioners select a range of project planning and management techniques for designing and implementing their collaborative research approaches and both expect and allow for the dynamic and changing nature of alignment.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/4/1187environmental health scienceenvironmental justicecommunity based participatory researchcommunity–university partnerships |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jonathan K. London Krista A. Haapanen Ann Backus Savannah M. Mack Marti Lindsey Karen Andrade |
spellingShingle |
Jonathan K. London Krista A. Haapanen Ann Backus Savannah M. Mack Marti Lindsey Karen Andrade Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health environmental health science environmental justice community based participatory research community–university partnerships |
author_facet |
Jonathan K. London Krista A. Haapanen Ann Backus Savannah M. Mack Marti Lindsey Karen Andrade |
author_sort |
Jonathan K. London |
title |
Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context |
title_short |
Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context |
title_full |
Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context |
title_fullStr |
Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aligning Community-Engaged Research to Context |
title_sort |
aligning community-engaged research to context |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2020-02-01 |
description |
Community-engaged research is understood as existing on a continuum from less to more community engagement, defined by participation and decision-making authority. It has been widely assumed that more is better than less engagement. However, we argue that what makes for good community engagement is not simply the extent but the fit or alignment between the intended approach and the various contexts shaping the research projects. This article draws on case studies from three Community Engagement Cores (CECs) of NIEHS-funded Environmental Health Science Core Centers (Harvard University, UC Davis and University of Arizona,) to illustrate the ways in which community engagement approaches have been fit to different contexts and the successes and challenges experienced in each case. We analyze the processes through which the CECs work with researchers and community leaders to develop place-based community engagement approaches and find that different strategies are called for to fit distinct contexts. We find that alignment of the scale and scope of the environmental health issue and related research project, the capacities and resources of the researchers and community leaders, and the influences of the sociopolitical environment are critical for understanding and designing effective and equitable engagement approaches. These cases demonstrate that the types and degrees of alignment in community-engaged research projects are dynamic and evolve over time. Based on this analysis, we recommend that CBPR scholars and practitioners select a range of project planning and management techniques for designing and implementing their collaborative research approaches and both expect and allow for the dynamic and changing nature of alignment. |
topic |
environmental health science environmental justice community based participatory research community–university partnerships |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/4/1187 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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