Rural Health System Resources
BY RURAL PEOPLE FOR RURAL PEOPLE
Community Engagement - Equity in Research Program
Authors
Harvard University
Description
The Community Engagement program at Harvard University was designed to increase the pace of adoption of evidence-based programs and policies to promote health, prevent disease, and eliminate disparities. In alignment with community-identified needs and interests, the University employs a combination of implementation science, policy research, and community partnerships. The program works to create mechanisms for high-quality engagement with community and policy stakeholders, partnering with collaborators to identify opportunities for accelerating population-level outcomes while providing robust research and training opportunities in community translation and increasing the pipeline of well-trained individuals interested in this field.
Why is this useful for rural and remote people?
The resource includes links to guidelines and materials to support research organisations and communities to engage in meaningful community led research and policy reform. It is really important that rural and remote communities decide what is good consultation for them, rather than just waiting for someone to tell you what type of consultation you will get. Invariably waiting for someone else to decide how they will consult you will result in consultation that does not meet your needs. This resource site will give you ideas about setting the ground rules - for example, are you happy to just be told what is going to happen, or do you want a say in it. If you have a say, are you happy if this can be rejected without reasons, or do you want an accountability framework that ensures your views are given consideration and an explanation provided for the final approach? This resource will help communities to define their expectations more effectively.
Suggested Citation
Harvard University (2023) Community Engagement - Equity in Research Program
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