Picturing Participation: Catalyzing Conversations About Community Engagement in HIV Community–Based Organizations

2021 ◽  
pp. 109019812097714
Author(s):  
Sarah Switzer ◽  
Soo Chan Carusone ◽  
Alex McClelland ◽  
Kamilah Apong ◽  
Neil Herelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Grief And Loss ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Subjective Experiences ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Support Organizations ◽  
Fuzzy Term

Community engagement is considered a cornerstone of health promotion practice. Yet engagement is a fuzzy term signifying a range of practices. Health scholarship has focused primarily on individual effects of engagement. To understand the complexities of engagement, organizations must also consider relational, structural, and/or organizational factors that inform stakeholders’ subjective understandings and experiences. Community engagement processes are not neutral; they can reproduce and/or dismantle power structures, often in contradictory or unexpected ways. This article discusses diverse stakeholders’ subjective experiences and understandings of engagement within the HIV sector in Toronto, Canada. In our study, a team of community members, service providers, and academics partnered with three HIV community–based organizations to do this work. We used photovoice, a participatory and action-oriented photography method, to identify, document, and analyze participants’ understandings at respective sites. Through collaborative analysis, we identified seven themes that may catalyze conversations about engagement within organizations: reflecting on journey; honoring relationships; accessibility and support mechanisms; advocacy, peer leadership, and social justice; diversity and difference; navigating grief and loss; and nonparticipation. Having frank and transparent discussions that are grounded in stakeholders’ subjective experiences, and the sociopolitical and structural conditions of involvement, can help organizations take a more intersectional and nuanced approach to community engagement. Together, our findings can be used as a framework to support organizations in thinking more deeply and complexly about how to meaningfully, ethically, and sustainably engage communities (both individually and collectively) in HIV programming, and organizational policy change. The article concludes with questions for practice.

“Out-of-the-Mainstream” Youth as Partners in Collaborative Research: Exploring the Benefits and Challenges

1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Harper ◽  
Lisa J. Carver
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Street Youth ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Service Programs ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Improve Health

Forming collaborations between university-based researchers and community-based organizations (CBOs) serves to improve health promotion research and service. Unfortunately, members of the targeted populations are typically not included in such collaborations. This article describes the development and maintenance of a successful university-CBO collaboration that was formed to explore HIV-related risk rates and prevention strategies for suburban street youth and discusses the benefits and challenges of including out-of-the-mainstream youth as full collaborative partners in the research. Specific benefits included population-specific modifications of the research methods and instruments, recruitment of hard-to-reach youth, greater ease in tracking participants, and increased project acceptability and credibility. Among the challenges were issues related to boundaries, confidentiality, commitment, and burnout. Although such collaborations require increased time and commitment, the synergistic knowledge and experience of university researchers, community-based service providers, and out-of-the-mainstream youth can result in the development of unique and informative research and service programs.

scholarly journals Post-Disaster Mental Distress Relief: Health Promotion and Knowledge Exchange in Partnership with a Refugee Diaspora Community

Refuge ◽  
2008 ◽  
pp. 44-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Simich ◽  
Lisa Andermann ◽  
Joanna Anneke Rummens ◽  
Ted Lo
Keyword(s):  
Community Service ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Post Disaster

After the 2004 Asian tsunami, a group of concerned scientists, physicians, and community service providers united to form a Local Distress Relief Network (LDRN) to provide information, referral, and care to affected members of the large Sri Lankan Tamil community in Toronto. The LDRN organized a workshop that brought together community-based organizations and international and local experts in mental health and disaster response to review existing knowledge on disaster response and to share community knowledge and experience. This article summarizes the development of the network, the workshop proceedings and joint recommendations for communitybased, culturally appropriate mental distress relief.

scholarly journals Homelessness during COVID-19: Challenges, Responses, and Lessons Learned from Homeless Service Providers in Tippecanoe County, Indiana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia M. Rodriguez ◽  
Alexa M. Lahey ◽  
Justin J. MacNeill ◽  
Rebecca G. Martinez ◽  
Nina E. Teo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Community Based Organizations

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare some of the United States’ most devastating health and social inequities faced by people experiencing homelessness. Homeless populations experience disproportionate rates of underlying health conditions, stigma and marginalization that often disenfranchise them from health and social services, and living conditions that potentiate the risk of COVID-19 transmission and adverse outcomes. Methods: Guided by the socio-ecological model, this community-based participatory research study examined the impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis on people experiencing homelessness in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and the ways in which homeless service providers prepared for, experienced, and responded to the pandemic. Eighteen (18) semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of 15 community-based organizations, including shelters and other homeless service providers.Results: Qualitative content analysis revealed multilevel challenges and responses to COVID-19 impact mitigation in this community, including the implementation of diverse safety measures, policies and novel service delivery innovations.Conclusions: Community-based organizations, including homeless shelters, are uniquely qualified to inform pandemic response and disaster risk mitigation in order to respond appropriately to the specific needs of people experiencing homelessness. Many of the emergency measures put in place by homeless service providers in Tippecanoe County, Indiana created opportunities for innovative solutions to longstanding challenges faced by homeless populations that can inform better service delivery moving forward, long after the COVID-19 pandemic. The lessons learned and shared by homeless service providers on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic have important implications to improve future disaster response for homeless and other vulnerable populations.

Building Disaster Resilient Organizations in the Non-Government (NGO) Sector

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 503-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K. Eisner ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Peer Networks ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Faith Based ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Government Sector ◽  
Definition Of

In 2006 Fritz Institute initiated the development and implemention of a process to create “disaster resilience” in faith and community based organizations that provide services to vulnerable populations in California. The process included undertaking background research on the attributes of disaster resilient organizations; development of intervention strategies to promote organizational resilience, developing a definition of “soft” and “hard” resilience applicable to the non-government sector; and the development and implementation of A Disaster Resilience Standard for Community- and Faith-Based Service Providers. This process necessitated the creation of a constituency for a standard, convening of peer networks to support organizational change, and the formulation of a strategy to sustain application of the standard.

Leveraging Community Engagement: The Role of Community-Based Organizations in Reducing New HIV Infections Among Black Men Who Have Sex with Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-201
Author(s):  
Paul A. Burns ◽  
Michelle S. Williams ◽  
Leandro A. Mena ◽  
Marino A. Bruce ◽  
Melverta Bender ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Black Men ◽  
Hiv Infections ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Sex With Men

scholarly journals Trauma-informed and relational approaches to service provision: building community-based project capacity to respond to interpersonal violence through a national initiative

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla D. Singh ◽  
Naomi C. Z. Andrews ◽  
Mary Motz ◽  
Debra J. Pepler ◽  
Margaret Leslie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Violence Intervention ◽  
Community Based Organizations ◽  
Mothers And Children ◽  
Trauma Informed

Abstract Background Community services that engage and service marginalized families can act as an important entry point for mothers and children experiencing interpersonal violence. The purpose of this study was to use an initiative that included training, implementation, and evaluation of an interpersonal violence intervention to understand changes in the capacity of service providers in community-based organizations to use trauma-informed and relational approaches to support mothers and children experiencing violence in relationships. Methods Participants (N = 27) were service providers from 14 community-based organizations across Canada, who had been trained to implement an interpersonal violence intervention with mothers in their communities. Using a phenomenological approach, participants engaged in an open-ended interview in which they were encouraged to reflect on their experiences in the intervention initiative, with prompts relating to the ways in which their work and their organization may have changed as a result of their participation. Results Findings indicated that participants were able to identify changes in four key areas related to trauma-informed practice: awareness (e.g., attitudes toward interpersonal violence), competency (e.g., application of trauma-informed knowledge), collaboration (e.g., working with other organizations to provide services to children and families), and safety (e.g., organizational policies to ensure safe, welcoming spaces). Further, participants identified these areas of change at the level of themselves as facilitators of the interpersonal violence intervention, their organizations, and their communities. Conclusions Results indicate that, through training, implementation, and evaluation of an interpersonal violence intervention, service providers in community-based projects were able to extend trauma-informed and relational principles not only to the intervention itself, but also to their own work, as well as that of their organizations and communities. With some additional support, leveraging the existing capacities within community-based projects may be an effective means to support mothers and children experiencing interpersonal violence and other challenges.

scholarly journals Homelessness during COVID-19: challenges, responses, and lessons learned from homeless service providers in Tippecanoe County, Indiana

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia M. Rodriguez ◽  
Alexa M. Lahey ◽  
Justin J. MacNeill ◽  
Rebecca G. Martinez ◽  
Nina E. Teo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Adverse Outcomes ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Community Based Organizations

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare some of the United States’ most devastating health and social inequities faced by people experiencing homelessness. Homeless populations experience disproportionate rates of underlying health conditions, stigma and marginalization that often disenfranchise them from health and social services, and living conditions that potentiate the risk of COVID-19 transmission and adverse outcomes. Methods Guided by the socio-ecological model, this community-based participatory research study examined the impacts of the COVID-19 public health crisis on people experiencing homelessness in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and the ways in which homeless service providers prepared for, experienced, and responded to the pandemic. Eighteen (18) semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of 15 community-based organizations, including shelters and other homeless service providers. Results Qualitative content analysis revealed myriad challenges at the individual and interpersonal levels faced by people experiencing homelessness as a result of the pandemic, and multilevel responses for COVID-19 impact mitigation in this community. Many of the emergency measures put in place by homeless service providers in Tippecanoe County, Indiana created opportunities for innovative solutions to longstanding challenges faced by homeless populations that are informing better service delivery moving forward, even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions Community-based organizations, including homeless shelters, are uniquely qualified to inform pandemic response and disaster risk mitigation in order to respond appropriately to the specific needs of people experiencing homelessness. The lessons learned and shared by homeless service providers on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic have important implications to improve future disaster response for homeless and other vulnerable populations.

scholarly journals Identifying the Community-Engaged Translational Research Collaboration Experience and Health Interests of Community-Based Organizations Outside of Metropolitan Atlanta

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Breanna Blaess Greteman ◽  
Latrice Rollins ◽  
Allisen Penn ◽  
Alison Berg ◽  
Eric Nehl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Research Collaboration ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Gis Mapping ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Research Partnerships ◽  
Community Based Organizations

Abstract Rural health research has increased over the last two decades, but there are still unknowns regarding health priorities from the perspective of rural community-based representatives. The Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (CTSA), a collaboration between four research institutions, statewide, includes a Community Engagement (CE) Program facilitating community-academic research partnerships. This study aimed to assess the health priorities, research experience, and interests from community respondents outside of Metropolitan Atlanta through the Community Engagement Facilitation Survey (CEFS). CE Program members disseminated the 11-item survey statewide at community events and professional organization meetings. Descriptive statistics were analyzed, and GIS mapping was conducted. Four-hundred six (406) surveys were analyzed, representing 83.6% of rural Georgia counties. Most frequently identified health priorities and research interests were diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, and mental health. Results will be used to support those within rural Georgia organizations seeking to forge community-academic partnerships to address health priorities.

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