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Exploring community health nursing research topics: a comprehensive guide for nursing students, carla johnson.

• August 25, 2023
• Essay Topics and Ideas

Community health nursing is a dynamic and vital field within the nursing profession, focused on providing holistic care to populations within a defined community. This specialized branch of nursing goes beyond individual patient care, extending its reach to families, groups, and entire communities. This article will delve into community health nursing, explore its significance, and provide valuable resources for nursing students to engage in research, evidence-based practice (EBP) projects, capstone projects, research paper topics, research questions, and essay ideas.

What You'll Learn

Understanding Community Health Nursing: A Holistic Approach

Community health nursing emphasizes preventive care , health promotion, and disease prevention within a specific community. This holistic approach involves understanding the community’s unique needs, cultures, and challenges to provide targeted interventions that improve health outcomes. As nursing students, you will find this field to be a gateway to understanding the broader healthcare landscape and the interconnectedness of various factors that influence health.

PICOT Questions on Community Health Nursing

• P: Adult population in psychiatric care ; I: Implementation of daily RS questionnaire; C: Units without the daily survey; O: Reduction in utilization of restraint and seclusion; T: 6 months. Can the implementation of a daily RS (Restraint and Seclusion) questionnaire for adults in psychiatric care lead to a significant decrease in the utilization of restraint and seclusion within a period of 6 months?
• P: Pediatric population in school settings; I: Introduction of daily exercise regimen; C: Schools without daily exercise; O: Improvement in BMI and overall fitness; T: 1 academic year. Does introducing a daily exercise regimen in school settings for pediatric populations result in a noticeable improvement in BMI and overall fitness over the course of 1 academic year?
• P: Elderly population in assisted living facilities; I: Implementation of fall prevention program; C: Facilities without fall prevention program; O: Reduction in fall-related injuries; T: 1 year. Is there a significant reduction in fall-related injuries among the elderly residing in assisted living facilities after the implementation of a comprehensive fall prevention program within 1 year?
• P: Low-income pregnant women; I: Provision of prenatal education classes; C: Those without access to prenatal education; O: Increase in prenatal knowledge and healthier pregnancy outcomes; T: Throughout gestation. Can providing prenatal education classes to low-income pregnant women lead to increased prenatal knowledge and improved pregnancy outcomes when compared to those without access to such education?
• P: Diabetic population within the community; I: Establishment of a mobile diabetic clinic; C: No mobile clinic available; O: Enhanced diabetic management and reduced hospitalizations; T: 2 years. Does the establishment of a mobile diabetic clinic within the community lead to better diabetic management and a decrease in hospitalizations over a span of 2 years?
• P: Adolescent population in schools; I: Implementation of comprehensive sexual education; C: Schools with standard sexual education; O: Reduction in teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections (STIs); T: 3 years. Over a period of 3 years, does the implementation of comprehensive sexual education in schools result in a significant decrease in the rates of teen pregnancies and STIs among adolescents compared to schools with standard sexual education?
• P: Homeless population; I: Launch of mobile healthcare unit; C: No access to regular healthcare; O: Improvement in overall health status and decrease in emergency room visits; T: 1 year. Can the introduction of a mobile healthcare unit for the homeless population improve their overall health status and a noticeable reduction in emergency room visits within a year?
• P: Rural elderly population; I: Initiation of telehealth services ; C: Lack of telehealth services; O: Enhanced access to healthcare and better management of chronic conditions; T: 18 months. Does the introduction of telehealth services for the rural elderly population lead to increased access to healthcare services and improved management of chronic conditions over the course of 18 months?
• P: New mothers; I: Implementation of postpartum support groups; C: No postpartum support groups available; O: Reduction in postpartum depression rates and improved maternal well-being; T: 1 year. Can the implementation of postpartum support groups for new mothers lead to a significant reduction in postpartum depression rates and an overall improvement in maternal well-being within a year?
• P: LGBTQ+ youth; I: Creating safe spaces in schools; C: Absence of designated safe spaces; O: Decreased mental health challenges and higher academic achievement; T: Ongoing. Does creating safe spaces within schools for LGBTQ+ youth lead to a noticeable decrease in mental health challenges and a rise in academic achievement over an ongoing period?

Evidence-Based Practice Projects Ideas

• Evaluating the effectiveness of community-wide vaccination drives in reducing vaccine-preventable diseases.
• Assessing the impact of a smoke-free policy in public spaces on community members’ respiratory health.
• Investigating the outcomes of a nutrition education program in improving dietary habits among low-income families.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of a community-based mental health awareness campaign in reducing stigma and increasing help-seeking behavior.
• Exploring the outcomes of a diabetes management intervention using mobile health apps in urban communities.
• Studying the effects of a community gardening initiative on physical activity levels and nutrition awareness.
• Investigating the utilization and impact of telemedicine services in remote rural areas.
• Assessing the benefits of a community fitness program on cardiovascular health and overall well-being.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a school-based anti-bullying campaign on students’ mental health.
• Analyzing the outcomes of a community-driven initiative to increase access to clean drinking water in underserved areas.

Nursing Capstone Project Ideas

• Developing a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan for a local community.
• Designing and implementing a culturally sensitive prenatal care program for immigrant populations.
• Creating a curriculum for training community health workers in identifying and addressing social determinants of health.
• Establishing a support network for caregivers of elderly individuals living at home.
• Designing a mental health first aid training program for community leaders and volunteers.
• Implementing a community-based program to promote physical activity among children with obesity.
• Creating a resource guide for LGBTQ+ youth to access healthcare services without discrimination.
• Developing a community-wide initiative to combat opioid misuse and overdose.
• Establishing a telehealth platform for remote health consultations in underserved regions.
• Designing a comprehensive sexual education curriculum for high schools to address varying cultural norms.

Nursing Research Paper Topics

• The impact of community health nursing interventions on reducing health disparities .
• Exploring the role of community health nurses in disaster response and recovery.
• Analyzing the effectiveness of school-based health clinics in improving student health outcomes.
• Investigating the barriers and facilitators of healthcare access in underserved rural communities.
• The role of community health nursing in promoting healthy aging and elderly care.
• Addressing mental health stigma through community-based interventions led by nurses.
• Analyzing the outcomes of community health education programs on reducing tobacco use .
• Exploring the relationship between community engagement and positive maternal-child health outcomes.
• The effectiveness of telehealth services in bridging healthcare gaps in remote areas.
• Investigating the impact of community health nursing in preventing and managing chronic diseases.

Community Health Nursing Research Questions

• How does the presence of community health nurses influence health outcomes in underserved urban neighborhoods?
• What are the key components of successful school-based vaccination programs , and how do they impact disease prevention?
• How do cultural competence and sensitivity affect the effectiveness of community health nursing interventions?
• What are the main challenges community health nurses face in addressing social determinants of health ?
• How does community engagement contribute to the sustainability of community health initiatives led by nurses?
• What strategies effectively promote mental health awareness and reduce stigma within communities?
• How do telehealth services improve access to healthcare for individuals in geographically isolated regions?
• What role do community health nurses play in detecting and managing chronic diseases ?
• How do community health interventions impact healthcare utilization patterns and costs?
• What are the outcomes of community health nursing programs focused on improving maternal and child health?

Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

• The Role of Community Health Nursing in Promoting Population Health.
• Addressing Health Disparities: The Impact of Community Health Nursing.
• Community-Based Approaches to Preventing Teenage Pregnancy .
• Telehealth: Bridging Healthcare Gaps in Underserved Communities.
• Cultural Competence in Community Health Nursing: Challenges and Strategies.
• Disaster Preparedness and Response: The Critical Role of Community Health Nurses.
• The Influence of Social Determinants of Health on Community Health Nursing Interventions.
• Community Health Education: Strategies for Promoting Healthy Lifestyles.
• Exploring the Connection Between Mental Health and Community Well-being.
• Innovations in Community Health Nursing: Harnessing Technology for Better Outcomes.

As nursing students, you are poised to become the next generation of community health nurses, armed with the knowledge and skills to impact the health and well-being of diverse populations positively. Community health nursing offers numerous opportunities for research, practice, and advocacy. By delving into PICOT questions, evidence-based practice projects, capstone projects, research paper topics, and research questions, you can deepen your understanding of this vital field and contribute to its growth. Don’t hesitate to seek our writing services if you need assistance with your community health nursing assignments or essays. We understand the demands of nursing education and are here to support you in your academic journey. Your dedication to improving community health is commendable, and together, we can pave the way for healthier, more vibrant communities.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Community Health Nursing

• Is community health nursing the same as nursing? Community health nursing is a specialized branch of nursing that focuses on providing holistic care to populations within specific communities. While nursing is a broader field encompassing various specialties, community health nursing is distinct in its emphasis on preventive care and health promotion within communities.
• What are the qualifications of a community health nursing? To practice community health nursing, one typically needs a registered nurse (RN) license. Many community health nurses also hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, and advanced practice may require additional education such as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) with a specialization in community health.
• Do community health nurses work in hospitals? While community health nurses primarily work in community settings like public health departments, schools, and clinics, they can also collaborate with hospitals to provide education, preventive care, and continuity of care to patients transitioning from hospital to home.
• Can a community health nurse become a doctor? Community health nurses can certainly pursue further education and career advancement, but the path to becoming a doctor is different. Becoming a doctor requires completing medical school and earning a medical degree (MD) or a doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree, whereas community health nursing involves nursing education and training.

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It can be difficult to choose the right topic for your research in community development . Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• What are you interested in?
• What do you know about the topic?
• Is there a specific time period you want to cover?
• Is there a geographic region or country on which you want to focus?
• Is there a particular aspect of the topic that interests you?

Produced by K-State Libraries   Video Transcript

If you have learned what to do when your topic is too broad, consider another scenario:

Though having a topic that is too broad is a common problem, you also need to make sure your topic is not too narrow. If your topic is so limited by geographical area, details, or is very current, you may not be able to find any information about it when researching. 

Below is a table that shows examples of topics that are too broad, too narrow and just right.

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The Community-Engaged Research Framework

Anmol Sanghera

• Sabrina Avripas
• Ashani Johnson-Turbes

For inquiries, email:

Download Equity Brief

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This Equity Brief describes the Community-Engaged Research Framework and highlights strategies for applying the principles of the Framework in practice. The Framework consists of six principles, grounded in theory and practice, that inform community engagement. It serves as a conceptual model to guide researchers in authentically engaging community members and organizations in social and behavioral science research.

Introduction

This Equity Brief describes the Community-Engaged Research (CEnR) Framework, or “the Framework,” six principles for engaging communities throughout the full research process and strategies for applying the principles in practice. The Framework is grounded in theory and existing community engagement literature and frameworks (e.g., inclusive research, community-based participatory research, community-based participatory action research, community-directed research, emancipatory research). [1-6] It serves as a conceptual model for researchers and communities to use to authentically engage each other in social and behavioral science research.

Community-Engaged Research

Community-engaged research is an approach to inclusive and equitable research [i] that joins researchers with communities as partners throughout the full cycle of the research process. [1,5,7,8] Its emphasis is on the relationship between researchers and communities, not on the methodological approach to conduct the research; teams [ii] can use both qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods. [7,8] Community-engaged research may improve validity and relevance of data and results from the study, increase the data’s cultural relevance to community needs, enhance use of the data to create behavioral, social, services, or policy change, and increase the capacity of both communities and researchers. [7,8]

Exhibit 1: Continuum of Community Engagement in Research

Source: Adapted from the ATSDR Principles of Community Engagement and Wilder Involving Community Members in Evaluation: A Planning Framework

Community-engaged research exists along a continuum (Exhibit 1) that ranges in spectrum of community involvement from less (community as advisor) to more (community as equal partner or as leader) engagement. [1,5,7,8] Teams should strive to reach a level of shared leadership; however, time and resource constraints, historical mistrust, and competing priorities may make this level of engagement in every project difficult. [7-9]

The Community-Engaged Research Framework (Exhibit 2) consists of six principles for researcher and community partnerships to apply when engaging throughout the full research process. The inner circle displays the six principles essential to community engagement throughout each phase of the research process. The principles are not listed in any specific order and apply to all steps of the research process. These principles apply regardless of where a research study is on the continuum of community engagement. [1,7,8,10] The outer ring lists the phases of the research process, adapted from the Culturally Responsive Evaluation Framework, which centers both the theory and practice of “evaluation in culture” and ensures evaluation is responsive to values and beliefs. We have modified this evaluation framework to include the research process more broadly.

Exhibit 2: Community-Engaged Research Framework

© 2023 NORC. Source: Adapted from the Culturally Responsive Evaluation Framework and based on principles adapted from various frameworks for community-engaged research.

This section describes each principle and the actionable strategies teams can use to apply the principle throughout the research process. While we describe strategies within a specific principle, many are applicable across principles.

PRINCIPLE: AVOIDANCE OF HARM

All team members understand the immediate and broader implications of the research in context (e.g., community, society, systems) and actively avoid harming [iii] or marginalizing the communities in which the project is embedded. [5]

All team members recognize their own conscious and unconscious biases, how the research process can impact communities, and how the community and researchers benefit. [5,10-12] Avoidance of harm also requires listening to and respecting community expertise to better understand harm and strategies for avoidance. [5] Avoiding or doing no harm is especially important in research with historically and contemporarily marginalized and minoritized populations. [5,10]

Avoidance of harm prevents researchers from perpetuating a cycle of negative or exploitative interactions between communities and researchers, governments, and other systems, which has resulted in distrust among historically marginalized and minoritized communities. [5,8,9] It also helps teams develop appropriate protections to mitigate risks.

Actionable Strategies

Understand historical and contemporary contexts and their impact on community(ies). [5,10] Understanding communities’ context, needs, and sociopolitical environment is iterative; it requires remaining open, asking questions, conducting needs assessments, and stepping back when needed. [5,11]  

• Define community and harm in partnership with communities, and understand key principles and trauma.4,5 Understand how aspects of racism and other systems of oppression influence study design, implementation, and dissemination, and adapt research processes and analysis to this context. [5,13]
• Critically deliberate on and pursue opportunities that address inequities due to race, ethnicity, class, caste, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, and other social constructs. [4]
• Actively challenge systems of oppression and injustice, including those lingering in some research traditions, by improving coordination, enhancing existing services, and identifying, mobilizing, and strengthening assets and resources that enhance community’s capacity to make decisions.

Implement strategies to mitigate harm. Researchers’ actions may unknowingly or unintentionally harm communities. 

• Develop in partnership with communities or use existing frameworks [iv] to mitigate harm if there are adverse effects of research actions. 
• Prioritize the expertise of communities most affected by the harm when developing solutions to mitigate harms and challenges. 

Maintain community-researcher relationships beyond one project or funding period. Allocate adequate resources to maintain relationships with communities over the long-term. Continually reflect, assess, and communicate to maintain and deepen relationships for long-term action and sustainability. Take part in community meetings and events, meet community leaders, and build and foster relationships.

PRINCIPLE: SHARED POWER AND EQUITY IN DECISION-MAKING

All team members participate collaboratively, equitably, and cooperatively in all decisions within each phase of the research process. [5,14]

Shared power and equity in decision-making ensures teams incorporate the experiences and needs of communities into every aspect of the research process, from conception to dissemination, and use of findings to inform policies, programs, and services. Teams establish a governance structure that includes the voices of communities directly impacted by the issue or topic they are researching and employ equitable structures of decision-making and contribution. [4-6,13,14] This approach helps overcome non-participatory governance structures that are researcher-led with little room for community input or involvement, which can result in research that does not address community needs or interests. [2,7]  

Create a diverse and inclusive team. Include people with subject matter expertise and lived experiences to ensure the team reflects the community in which the project is embedded. Identify gaps in expertise and engage additional partners to fill gaps. [6]

Establish governance structures that eliminate Non-Participatory power hierarchies that de-value community experience and expertise.

• Create structures that promote equity and power sharing to overcome power differentials. Include avenues for shared decision-making (e.g., co-principal investigators, equal representation on steering committees). [4,5,13,14]
• Overcome relational dynamics that limit opportunities for economically and socially marginalized and disadvantaged groups that are part of project teams. Treat all team members with integrity and respect (e.g., do not undermine or invalidate people’s experiences, thoughts, or ideas; practice active listening; be considerate of others’ time, schedules, language, and cultural norms). [4,8,9]

Discuss up front what communities want to contribute and ultimately get from the research. Collectively establish parameters for data ownership and dissemination of findings. Be inclusive of communities’ right to access their collective data and research protocols by giving data and results back to the communities in which the research takes place. [6,14]

PRINCIPLE: TRANSPARENCY & OPEN COMMUNICATION

Researchers and community partners communicate openly and honestly about power dynamics and decision-making processes around project objectives and research processes, resources and finances, challenges and limitations, data, research findings, and dissemination strategies. [4,5,15]

Transparency and open communication require that all team members know who is involved in the study and why; the intent and purpose of a project; how resources are shared and allocated; and the apparent and hidden potential benefits, harms, and limitations of a project. [4,5]  

Lack of transparency may result in lack of trust if communities feel like they are being taken advantage of or do not understand researchers’ motivations and intentions. [16-18] Transparency and open communication create more authentic working relationships, build trust, and help mend relationships between researchers and communities; build on avoidance of harm to reduce the risk of unintentionally harming communities; demonstrate integrity for working through difficult issues; and improves investment in the relationship to promote sustainability. [16-18]

Collaboratively establish open communication approaches and channels. 

• Determine methods, cadence, and mode of communication and meeting coordination. 
• Set schedules, establish points of contacts and preferred formats for communication, and set timelines and frequencies of communication. 

Minimize hierarchy in communication processes, “gatekeepers,” and barriers to lines of communication. Share information readily with each member of the team about research processes and objectives, roles, motives, resources and finances, progress, timelines, etc. at every stage and at every level of the project. [4,5,17]

PRINCIPLE: MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY & RESPECT

Develop an equitable structure of incorporating input into decision-making processes, promoting commitment, and addressing discord directly.

Teams collaboratively define roles and decision-making authority, establishing a shared vision for the partnership and the research. [14,15] They also continually assess progress towards achieving that vision throughout the decision-making process. Teams facilitate discussions that allow for respectful discord and a process for reconciling discord in every phase of the research process. [4]

Non-participatory research that lacks mutual accountability and respect risks members losing interest and investment in the work, leading to a lack of respect for values and needs. Mutual accountability and respect promote a more equitable collaboration and continued involvement of members throughout all phases of the research. [19]

Collectively develop charters and establish ground rules. 

• Develop partnership arrangements (e.g., memorandum of understanding) that document the scope and nature of the partnership and align scope with each member’s capacity. Determine where on the continuum of engagement the study and relationships lie and set expectations for that relationship early and often.
• Delineate responsibilities and expectations for each person on the team. [14,15] Set realistic commitments and provide opportunities to share progress towards those commitments. [19]
• Develop a vision statement for the work and a charter for upholding and making progress towards that vision. Revise the charter as needed. [20]
• Create and implement decision-making protocols to promote follow through and commitment to roles and responsibilities, ways to track progress on achieving the goals and vision of the partnership, and continually share lessons learned. [20]

Establish structures to overcome discord. 

• Develop ground rules for reconciling discord. Make time and space for individuals to speak comfortably and express discord without fear. 
• Acknowledge missteps, challenges, and limitations and work openly to address them. Be willing to adapt throughout the partnership and process. [5]

PRINCIPLE: ACCESSIBILITY & DEMONSTRATED VALUE

Value time and contributions of all team members and develop flexible and equitable methods of engagement. [5,13]

Teams demonstrate accessibility and demonstrated value through fair and equitable compensation, reasonable and thoughtful requests for time, and flexibility and accessibility in methods of engagement and communication. [5,15]

Non-participatory research may prioritize researcher views, perspectives, and methods of engagement. Participatory research recognizes that each team member brings their own unique perspectives and skills and adds valuable experiences, resources, and social networks to the research process. [19] It also considers each team member’s barriers to engagement and establishes approaches to overcome those barriers. Accessibility and demonstrated value promote greater acceptance of alternative perspectives and trust, inclusivity, and engagement.

Acknowledge all team members and value their expertise, skills, and contributions. 

• Create a shared space that equally values all team members’ contributions and voices to facilitate co-design, co-creation, and shared decision-making, and to advance individual and collective development, growth, and learning. [15]
• Integrate opportunities for relationship-building activities, informal networking, team building, and engagement outside of project activities. [19]
• Ask how individuals and communities would like to be acknowledged and give credit for contributions. Create publication and data use guidelines.
• Collaboratively determine adequate compensation structures for all members’ contribution and time in their preferred method and form of value. [15]

Demonstrate cultural responsiveness [v]  and inclusivity. 

• Understand that engagement and relationship building take time. Allow sufficient time to establish relationships and account for the limited time some members have to engage in research. 
• Practice cultural humility. [vi] Conduct self-reflection about your own biases, power, and privileges. [4,5,10] Ask questions and take time to understand local and cultural practices and nuances. [4,5]
• Understand and address barriers to engagement. Provide accessible modalities of participation and access, including flexibility in meeting times and location, interpreters and translated materials, plain language materials, childcare, transportation, and technology support. [15] Conduct engagements at times and in places convenient to communities. Offer disability accommodations and be flexible with requests for time commitment and deadlines. [5,15]

PRINCIPLE: CAPACITY BRIDGING & CO-LEARNING

All team members learn from each other and engage in bi-directional feedback and conversation. [vii]

Capacity bridging and co-learning expands tools, resources, skills, and knowledge among all team members. [21–23] It also promotes sustainability beyond one research project or funding opportunity. [23] Embedded throughout the research process are educational opportunities for all team members to become agents for community change. Teams should work together to re-define the research process and relationship, not to transform community partners into researchers (unless that is the ask of community partners). [15] Non-participatory research that focus solely on building the capacity of community members fall short in fostering bi-directional knowledge, skills, and capacity. Researchers should learn about historical and contemporary local culture and context, lived experiences of community partners, and community engagement strategies. [14]

Facilitate the reciprocal transfer of knowledge, skills, and capacity. [21,22] Maintain open dialogue, conduct and receive trainings, and bi-directionally share information, tools, and data. [14]

Translate knowledge into action. Document and share lessons learned about what works and what does not work about the process, and partnership successes, weaknesses, and challenges to further facilitate co-learning. [19] Understand how results from the study can improve programs, policies, or services to benefit both the advancement of science and the community. [19]

Affirm community strengths and assets. Conduct activities like community asset mapping and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyses, and practice positive marginality [viii] to understand each team member’s perspectives, knowledge, and expertise. Highlight and affirm community strengths. [4] Employ multiple methods and forums for community involvement beyond inclusion of community members on the project team (e.g., advisory boards, town halls, listening sessions, public comment).

The Community-Engaged Research Framework is a conceptual model that guides community engagement using the following six key principles: (1) Avoidance of harm; (2) Shared Power and Equity in Decision-Making; (3) Transparency and Open Communication; (4) Mutual Accountability and Respect; (5) Accessibility and Demonstrated Value; and (6) Capacity Bridging and Co-learning. 

Applying these principles and their associated actionable strategies facilitates conduct of inclusive and equitable research and evaluation that centers people’s cultures and community. Community-engaged research will vary depending on the community, project, client, capacity, and available funding and resources. The Community-Engaged Research Framework is a model that teams can tailor as needed to their specific research, needs, context, and communities under inquiry. This Equity Brief shares NORC’s Community-Engaged Research Framework. A subsequent equity brief will discuss strategies for putting the framework into practice.

Download This Equity Brief

Acknowledgements.

This Community-Engaged Research Framework was made possible with funding from NORC’s Diversity, Racial Equity, and Inclusion (DREI) Research Innovation Fund. We thank the following:

• Work group members: Manal Sidi, Anna Schlissel, Chandria Jones, James Iveniuk, Jocelyn Wilder, and Stefan Vogler for their contributions to framework development. 
• NORC reviewers: Roy Ahn, Michelle Johns, Carly Parry, and Vince Welch. 
• External reviewers: Carmen Hughes, Health IT Division Director, National Center for Primary Care, Morehouse School of Medicine and Hager Shawkat, Program Director, Sauti Yetu Center for African Women. 

[i] Inclusive & Equitable Research are “the methods of practice for Equity Science that is collaborative research embracing a range of theoretical frameworks and mixed methods that are focused on centering and empowering people and communities under inquiry and democratizing the research process to promote equity.” Johnson-Turbes, A., Jones, C., Johns, M.M., & Welch, V. (2022). Inclusive and Equitable Research Framework [Unpublished Manuscript]. Center on Equity Research, NORC at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.

[ii] A “team” consists of individuals, community-based organizations, researchers, evaluators, community leaders, and other key individuals or entities partners as determined by the project.

[iii] “Do No Harm,” a principle requiring healthcare providers to consider if the risk of their actions will hurt a patient versus improve a patient’s condition, is central to healthcare. Its origins trace back to the Hippocratic Oath and its development in the 1990s by Mary Anderson as an approach to working on conflict affected situations. The term is widely used (and sometimes, misused) to the design and conduct of research to ensure inclusivity and advance equity. In social science research, the interpretation of “do no harm” should also weigh the risk of harming an individual or potential benefits from data collection, analysis, or results dissemination. Like in medicine, the goal of research should be to advance equity and promote wellbeing, in line with beneficence. See Kinsinger FS. Beneficence and the professional’s moral imperative. J Chiropr Humanit. Published online 2009.

[iv] For example, Glover et al 2020’s Framework for Identifying and Mitigating the Equity Harms of COVID-19 Policy Interventions adapts the idea of “duty to warn” for research to inform communities about potential harm.

[v] Cultural responsiveness is the “ability to learn from and relate respectfully to people from your own and other cultures,” which promotes increased level of comfort, knowledge, freedom, capacity, and resources and knowledge. [23]

[vi] Cultural humility is the practice of self-evaluation and self-reflection to examine our own biases, acknowledgement and shift of power dynamics and imbalances, and accountability for one’s own actions as well as those of its organization or institution. [12]

[vii] Capacity building refers to building capacity, knowledge, and skills, of someone, usually a community person, to a research team. [21] Capacity bridging expands this notion to acknowledge that one person can bring many things to their position on a team. [21] It also acknowledges the reciprocity of knowledge sharing between academics, researchers, community-based researchers, and individuals—so that all members are learning from each other. [21] This term was coined by the AHA Centre. 

[viii] Positive Marginality promotes the idea that injustice is rooted in structural determinants rather than personal or community behavior. It promotes the idea that “belonging to a non-dominant cultural or demographic group can be advantageous rather than oppressive.” [24]

[1]  Wilder Foundation. Using a Framework for Community-Engaged Research. Published 2018. Accessed December 12, 2022.

[2] Nind M. What Is Inclusive Research. Bloomsbury Academic; 2014.

[3] International Collaboration for Participatory Health Research. What Is Participatory Health Research? (PDF) ; 2013. Accessed January 1, 2024.

[4] New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Community Engagement Framework (PDF) ; 2017. Accessed January 2, 2024.

[5] Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI), Michigan Health Endowment Fund. Community Engagement & Collective Impact Phase 1 Environmental Scan (PDF). Accessed January 2, 2024.

[6] Black Health Equity Working Group. A Data Governance Framework for Health Data Collected from Black Communities in Ontario. ; 2021. Accessed January 2, 2024. 

[7] McDonald MA. Practicing Community-Engaged Research (PDF). Duke Center for Community Research. Published 2009. Accessed December 11, 2022. 

[8] NIH Publication No. 11-7782. Principles of Community Engagement Second Edition (PDF) ; 2011. Accessed December 12, 2022. 

[9] Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. ATSDR’s Community Engagement Playbook (PDF). Accessed January 1, 2024.

[10] Ross L, Brown J, Chambers J, et al. Key Practices for Community Engagement in Research on Mental Health or Substance Use (PDF). Accessed December 11, 2022.

[11] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Practitioners Guide for Advancing Health Equity: Community Strategies for Preventing Chronic Disease (PDF) ; 2013. Accessed December 12, 2022. 

[12] Hughes-Hassell S, Rawson CH, Hirsh K. Project READY: Reimagining Equity & Access for Diverse Youth, Module 8: Cultural Competence & Cultural Humility. University of North Carolina, Institute of Museum and Library Services. Accessed December 13, 2022. 

[13] NORC. Community Engagement Panel: Community Engagement through Participatory Analysis.

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[15] Sheridan S, Schrandt S, Forsythe L, Hilliard T, Paez K, Advisory Panel on Patient Engagement (2013 inaugural panel). The PCORI Engagement Rubric: Promising Practices for Partnering in Research (PDF). Ann Fam Med. Published online 2017:165-170. Accessed February 14, 2024.

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[19] Marquez E, Smith S, Tu T, Ayele S, Haboush-Deloye A,, Lucero J. A Step-by-Step Guide to Community-Based Participatory Research (PDF) ; 2022. Accessed February 6, 2024.

[20] Lo L, Aron LY, Pettit KLS, Scally CP. Mutual Accountability Is the Key to Equity-Oriented Systems Change How Initiatives Can Create Durable Shifts in Policies and Practices Background and Mutual Accountability Framework.; 2021.

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• Research article
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Exploring community engaged research experiences and preferences: a multi-level qualitative investigation

• Hae-Ra Han   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9419-594X 1 , 2 , 3 ,
• Ashley Xu 1 ,
• Kyra J. W. Mendez 1 ,
• Safiyyah Okoye 3 ,
• Joycelyn Cudjoe 4 ,
• Mona Bahouth 1 , 5 ,
• Melanie Reese 2 , 6 ,
• Lee Bone 2 , 3 &
• Cheryl Dennison-Himmelfarb 1 , 2  

Research Involvement and Engagement volume  7 , Article number:  19 ( 2021 ) Cite this article

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Community engagement may make research more relevant, translatable, and sustainable, hence improving the possibility of reducing health disparities. The purpose of this study was to explore strategies for community engagement adopted by research teams and identify areas for enhancing engagement in future community engaged research.

The Community Engagement Program of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research hosted a forum to engage researchers and community partners in group discussion to reflect on their diverse past and current experiences in planning, implementing, and evaluating community engagement in health research . A total of 50 researchers, research staff, and community partners participated in five concurrent semi-structured group interviews and a whole group wrap-up session. Group interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using content analysis.

Four themes with eight subthemes were identified. Main themes included: Community engagement is an ongoing and iterative process; Community partner roles must be well-defined and clearly communicated; Mutual trust and transparency are central to community engagement; and Measuring community outcomes is an evolving area. Relevant subthemes were: engaging community partners in various stages of research; mission-driven vs. “checking the box”; breadth and depth of engagement; roles of community partner; recruitment and selection of community partners; building trust; clear communication for transparency; and conflict in community engaged research.

The findings highlight the benefits and challenges of community engaged research. Enhanced capacity building for community engagement, including training and communication tools for both community and researcher partners, are needed.

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Plain ENGLISH summary

Involving communities in the research process can make better the way research is planned, carried out, and used. With growing interest and support for community engagement, it is important to understand the views and insights of people who experienced community engaged research. To explore the key lessons learned by community engaged research teams, we held five group interview sessions with 50 research investigators, research staff, and community partners. Our findings showed that community engagement is not static but a dynamic, ongoing process. Community partners felt that involving them earlier and in all aspects of the research process would make for better science. Researchers were often torn between “checking the box” to meet community engagement requirements set by the funder of their research and engaging community partners in various stages of research to advance the scientific mission because of time pressure. There were strong themes around clearly defined community partner roles as well as mutual trust and transparency, as they were considered central to successful engagement of communities in research. Related, participants noted that conflict between the researchers and community partners is a familiar part of the community engaged research process. Two common sources of tension were misaligned research priorities between researchers and community partners and lack of communication about study results. Lastly, there was little agreement between researchers about how to measure community engaged research impact outcomes or which impact outcomes matter the most. Our findings support the need for training and communication tools for both community and researcher partners.

Introduction

Community engagement is defined as the process of meaningfully involving communities affected by a research finding in the research process [ 1 ]. Community engagement in research is recognized as a key process to improve the way the research is prioritized, translated, and used in a real-life setting, and can reduce health disparities [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Community engagement can occur across all stages of research including identifying study topics, planning and designing the study, strengthening recruitment strategies, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting and disseminating findings. Several United States federal health agencies including the National Institutes of Health and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute offer funding for community and other stakeholder engaged research, highlighting growing interest and support at the national level [ 6 ].

While evidence regarding the methods of community engagement is increasing, detailed information about the role and scope of community engagement or specific approaches to successful community engagement across the full spectrum of the research cycle is still limited [ 7 ]. Additionally, a systematic review of clinical trials that report patient engagement for the purposes of research revealed that an estimated less than 1% of clinical trials engage patients in the research process and that engagement of minorities occurred in only about a quarter of trials [ 8 ]. Growing interest in the participation and contributions of community involvement make it an opportune time to examine the key success strategies adopted by research teams and other lessons learned, and to consider the implications for future community engaged health research.

One of the goals of the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) program is to promote knowledge translation by engaging patients and communities in the research process. The Community Engagement Program of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research—Hopkins CTSA—hosted a forum to engage researchers and community partners in a dialogue to reflect on their past and current experiences in a variety of aspects of community engaged research . This paper reports the main themes identified from semi-structured group discussions among diverse forum participants in relation to their past and current experiences in planning, implementing, and evaluating community engaged research .

Participants and setting

Group discussions were chosen to identify norms of research teams in their conduct of community engaged research. The forum was publicized to researchers, research staff, and community partners within the greater Maryland-Washington region through email invites using existing lists and word of mouth. In order to ensure diversity in our forum participants, we also sent out personal, verbal, and email invitations to 100 researchers and community partners conducting community engaged research. The forum was also publicized during the public announcement section of meetings hosted by community advisory boards and local agencies. A total of 36 researchers and 14 community members participated in five concurrent group discussion sessions. Researcher participants consisted of research staff (e.g., research program coordinators, research assistants), post-doctoral fellows, and faculty investigators. Community participants included patient consultants and prior study subjects. About 86% of forum participants indicated that they were involved in a community or other stakeholder engaged research project at the time of the forum, and 59% had prior exposure to community engaged research.

A planning committee was formed to develop the goals, agenda and format of the forum. The planning committee included key faculty and staff from the Hopkins CTSA. Also included were members of the Johns Hopkins Community Research Advisory Council—a research review committee consisting of community residents, representatives of local community organizations, and community advocates. The planning committee met over a 3-month time period for a total of 12 meetings and developed forum goals and objectives as well as format, content, and discussion methods. The planning committee set the main goal of the forum to bring together investigators, patients, community members, and other stakeholders to share their experiences working together on research that addresses health and social issues that impact Greater Baltimore, Maryland. The 3-h forum began with opening by Director of Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, followed by the keynote presentation by a director of one of the health disparities research centers at the Johns Hopkins University. Participants were then asked to join one of five breakout groups to discuss the following topics: 1) identification and selection of community partners; 2) community partner roles and responsibilities; 3) approaches to promoting community engagement; 4) process and impact evaluation of engagement; and 5) scope of community engagement (see Table  1 for example questions). The forum planning committee grouped the participants into five breakout discussion groups based on their topical preferences, past experiences, and their expertise that were collected during registration. Following the breakout sessions, forum participants reconvened and representatives from each breakout group briefly summarized their discussion and presented the key themes of their respective breakout group discussion.

Four of the five breakout groups included both researchers and community members. The fifth group included community members only in order to maximize comfort and sharing of relevant experiences by community members. Each breakout group included 7–11 members and had a moderator to facilitate the discussion (except for the community member-only group which had two co-moderators—one community leader and one researcher), a note taker to transcribe key discussion points for the facilitation of post breakout discussion report out, and two recording devices to record discussion content. Moderators were all well-established researchers with prior and/or current community engaged projects. They had experiences in working with community members and had prior experiences in moderating group discussions. The moderators had specific instructions with a semi-structured discussion guide to follow in order to maximize the exchange of information and facilitate productive discussion. The note takers were all doctoral students who had previous experiences in qualitative research. They were all briefed and trained on the forum purpose and methods. The duration of each group discussion was 1 h. Forum participants provided written permission to audio record the discussion and transcribe notes. The Johns Hopkins Institutional Review Board considered this a quality improvement project and waived it from a full review.

Each group discussion was audio recorded and transcribed verbatim by the original note takers. Following transcription, qualitative content analysis was performed by identifying common themes across group discussions. A standard theme-based content analysis approach was used to analyze the discussion results [ 9 ]. Relevant phrases and statements from each group discussion were identified. Phrases and concepts expressed by more than one participant were considered validated and were included in the analysis, with all of the validated phrases and concepts sorted into thematic groups according to similarity. The transcriptions were then read multiple times, key phrases that provided specific information relevant to the research questions were highlighted, and key themes were identified and supported by direct quotes.

We identified four themes and eight subthemes from the forum. Main themes included: Community engagement is an ongoing and iterative process; Community partner roles must be well-defined and clearly communicated; Mutual trust and transparency are central to community engagement; and Measuring community engagement outcomes is an evolving area. Each theme with accompanying subthemes are detailed in the following section.

Community engagement is an ongoing and iterative process

Forum participants indicated that the amount of time community partners were engaged and the process of engaging community partners were different at various stages of research. The perceived importance and desire to be involved in the designing and planning stage was discussed more frequently than the desire to be involved in the other stages. Engaging in early phases of research was important to identify a problem and formulate the appropriate research questions. We identified three subthemes in relation to community engagement process: Engaging community in various stages of research, mission-driven vs. checking the box, and breadth and depth of engagement.

Engaging community partners in various stages of research

“We should be engaged in all stages of the research process” was a universal and oft-repeated sentiment within the Community partner group. Community partners felt researchers should be cognizant that community engagement is an iterative process, and that researchers’ ability to include community members and other stakeholders in all aspects of the research process is the key to success. In particular, community partners expressed that involving them earlier in the research process would make for better science:

“I think the framework is critical. The way that the research question is framed is critical. And I think that the community and the specific community, should be involved in developing the research question. Not too many folks would find fault with efforts to improve that disease or whatever may be, but if it’s not framed so that it applies … ” (Participant 6; Member of community research advisory council)

Researchers discussed actively engaging community partners in research through a series of ongoing, interactive process. Having open community forums (i.e., local forums of residents and community groups to identify issues faced by particular communities and neighborhoods and work together to address those issues) was one method to get community partners on same page, understand the needs of the community, and develop trust and rapport with the community. One researcher noted:

“I will say that the iterative process can actually be big advantage … I think that’s an incentive at least for most of the individuals that I have worked with that they really appreciate how their ideas have taken shape and how their input has been utilized. I think that can make things take a little bit more time but ultimately it is beneficial.” (Participant 1; Research investigator)

Mission-driven versus checking the box

Engaging community partners in all stages of research, however, was challenging at times. Participants discussed the importance of community engagement to advance the scientific mission. Yet, researchers stated that some grant mechanism requirements seem to have a list of community engagement requirements throughout the research study that may not always be productive to the project nor respectful of community partner time. Researchers noted that they do not want to waste community partners’ time unless there is a clear need for their feedback building on their skillset or life experiences. Valuing participant time was highlighted as one of the most difficult but important aspects of conducting research with community partners:

“I think the most challenging part of our current research is for the patients that I pushed so hard to get, for them to care about this really high level, you know, methodologic question … We don’t have monthly meetings … We try to call on them for mission driven things … We are very strategic about what we ask for [community partners] to provide input on … we don’t just waste their time just for the sake of checking a box.” (Participant 3; Research investigator)

Breadth and depth of engagement

Overall, community engagement was centered around identifying a research question or problem. Participants agreed that having communities identify research questions or problems is the most effective and pragmatic way of conducting community-based research. This process would ensure community buy-in when researchers decide to plan future studies in these same communities. One community member remarked on the good back and forth communication between community members and researchers present when she participated in a group of people living with high blood pressure that consulted researchers on relevant research questions:

“So that meant a lot to us for the fact, OK, you’re listening, and you’re actually developing something that’s going to, you know, cause I think what they did was they did something that was a consensus of what all of us had said. So we were really encouraged by it, and so when it comes time to actually do the study we want to be a part of the study, you know. ” (Participant 4; Patient).

Community partner roles must be well-defined and clearly communicated

Researchers expressed the need to consider the role of the community partners before beginning the research process—what is a community partner, the role of community partners, and the best ways to identify and recruit them. There were two subthemes directly addressing these questions: Roles of community partners and recruitment and selection of community partners.

Roles of community partners

Often, a bidirectional relationship with the community helped researchers determine the role of community partners. Participants noted that it is important to distinguish the role of community partners, as they are the liaisons that bring the researchers into the community while also acting as advisors, decision makers, and validators. Some participants called a community partner, the “mayor of the block,” the person that people in the community go to or someone who would be recognized by the community, and could “hold their own” in discussions about the community. This person would assist in translating what is going on in the community and monitor checks and balances.

The researchers in this discussion underscored the importance of clear communication about each community partner’s role to assure use of common language and clarity of roles in order to optimize the partnership and research. A research staff member talked about the importance of clarity in communication about the community partner roles by stating:

“We can be clear … I feel sometimes that there is a sense of, um people because they [community partners] don’t know what’s expected of them, feeling like they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing or that they’re we’re not...so we want to avoid that.” (Participant 9; Research staff).

Recruitment and selection of community partners

Community participants discussed the various ways they first became involved in research and collaborated with research teams. A common theme was engagement in research as a form of advocacy for a medical condition of interest. A community partner, the parent of a child with autism, shared her experience:

“I knew about clinicaltrials.gov , discovered a trial, participated in that trial and then subsequently asked to share my PHI [protected health information] for further research purposes and that was sort of the first time that I felt like I was asked by the research community to share information about my son’s autism and how it affects our family and so forth.” (Participant 11; Parent of a patient).

From the researcher perspective, it was important to first identify the type of community partner that the study requires and then to discuss who is the individual community member. Funding announcements, dissemination and implementation strategies, and knowing the skill sets of the individual community members were useful for selecting community partners. Nevertheless, difficulty identifying the right people to serve as community partners was a common challenge identified by researchers. Participants acknowledged the importance of relying on community resources and various stakeholders to identify and recruit community partners. For example, working with spiritual leaders and health departments, as well as getting to know and building trust with a community helped to identify community partners. To this end, participants noted that it would be ideal to the research team to establish presence and courtship to the community of interest and establish a relationship. Being active, involved, and partnering with community-based organizations would increase exposure and, in turn, enhance community partner engagement.

“ Having a conversation early on about what are your networks and really documenting that and understanding the kinds of networks that everyone brings to the table and how you can connect with those kinds of individuals or groups so that you can have those relationships built in advance so that when you get to the end of the process you can talk about your findings, you are not scrambling. You’ve established that.” (Participant 13; Research staff).

Mutual trust and transparency are central to community engagement

Participants noted that central to conducting community engaged research is the need to develop trust and value the unique contributions of the community partners who are invested in the project. The need to develop trust between researchers and community partners was a universal priority for forum participants. Subthemes to discuss trust to promote community engagement were: building trust, clear communication for transparency, and conflict in community engaged research.

Building trust

Participants stressed the importance of building trust long-term with the community and not coming to the partnership without consideration of community partners’ agendas. Building trust among community members and other stakeholders was also noted as an important aspect of conducting ethical and effective health research:

“That does make a huge difference … when the community sees somebody there, not with their hands out but actually wanting to be there month in and month out so when you do come calling or knocking or you need support, you have the stakeholders that relationship built that you can go to the head, the leadership of the community and they know you and they trust you.” (Participant 8; Member of community advisory council).

Clear communication for transparency

Participants underscored that researchers must make the research process as transparent as possible to community members. This included clear, honest and transparent communication with community members about funding, study findings, study team commitment to the community, duration of the study, and the overall goals of the study. Some community members felt, however, there was a lack of information from researchers to participants regarding results of the study.

“They very often don’t even let you know what, why they collected it, and how it impacted the analysis and then what they’re going to do with it. We never hear that part …” (Participant 5; Patient and member of community research advisory council).

Conflict in community engaged research

Researchers acknowledged that conflict between the researchers and community partners is a familiar part of the community engaged research process. Two sources of tension discussed by community partners were misaligned research priorities between researchers and community partners and lack of communication about study results. Researchers and community partners noted, however, that conflict was not always reported. When it was reported, it was not always clear how to manage conflict:

“I’ve been thinking a lot about [conflict] in many different [ways], but … as with muscles and anything, it is essential for growth and you need pain and destruction to move on. That’s how you know how you exercise well. When your muscles are torn and they need to regrow and repair. Otherwise you haven’t worked out enough... It’s the same for group engagement ... So how to manage [conflict] I don’t know but … that’s key.” (Participant 17; Research investigator).

Measuring community engagement impact outcomes is an evolving area

Researchers discussed a variety of community engagement outcomes they believed should be measured, such as participant attendance at meetings or activities, community partner needs, conflicts and conflict resolution, the amount of money and funding raised by community partners, and community partner self-efficacy. The researchers acknowledged it is easier to measure and evaluate short-term community engaged research outcomes like impact on study design rather than impact on health or impact of community engaged research on a community. However, they noted the lack of a commonly accepted impact measurement framework to guide the measurement of community engaged research for its impact. There was little agreement between researchers about how to measure community engaged research impact outcomes or which impact outcomes matter the most. Community engaged research might lack a commonly accepted impact measurement framework because it is an emerging field or as a result of differing goals of engagement that guide the evaluation of impact outcomes between projects. In the discussion about impact measurement, a researcher stated:

“What if we did this on the principle of justice? How would you measure justice? We get back to what you said about the goals. The goal is to incorporate justice, and that’s really why we are doing it. Can you measure something like that or do you want to be democratic. Or how would you measure whether your process was democratic and just or to some extent inclusiveness? It’s very hard to measure these types of things.” (Participant 20; Research investigator).

Researchers and policy-makers alike increasingly recognize the importance of seeking diverse and inclusive perspectives in translational research. Nonetheless, limited information is available about the role and scope of community engagement or specific approaches to community engagement across the full spectrum of the research cycle [ 7 ]. In particular, this paper offers the diverse perspectives of research investigators, staff, and community partners actively involved in community engaged research. This forum discussion allowed these diverse forum participants an opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives about the benefits and challenges of community engaged research. Our participants noted that community engagement is an ongoing and iterative process to which mutual trust and transparency are central and that the roles of community partners must be well-defined and clearly communicated for the engagement to be successful. These main themes are overall consistent with the key principles of engagement (i.e., reciprocal relationships, partnerships, co-learning, and transparency-honesty-trust) as highlighted in the recent literature [ 7 , 10 , 11 , 12 ].

Whereas all forum participants recognized the benefits of community engaged research, some of the subthemes such as engaging community in various stages of research suggest the need for closer dialogue between researchers and community partners in earlier phases of research. It was interesting to note that researchers felt engagement should happen less, once the research started; it was important for them to not waste community partners’ time by focusing on “mission driven things.” We did not find a similar concern about time burden among community partners. An essential element of community engaged research is the meaningful participation of a broadly representative group of stakeholders whose contributions are sought through all phases of the research, beginning with the planning and research question [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Indeed, the researcher participants in the forum noted that the most effective community engaged research involved community partners to identify a problem and formulate the appropriate research questions. Some of the data driven approaches such as the discrete choice experiment—a quantitative technique to uncover how individuals value selected attributes of a program by asking them to state their choice over different hypothetical alternatives [ 15 ]—may be useful to elicit community preferences as a way of enhancing their engagement in the early phase of research. For example, a recent systematic review [ 16 ] revealed that the discrete choice experiment, when applied to designing and characterizing therapies in the planning phase of research, resulted in increased acceptability and appropriateness.

Engagement in “all stages of the research process” came through as a strong theme within the Community partner group. Community partners in the forum appreciated the “back and forth” interaction between researchers and community members. A mixed methods study [ 17 ] showed that researchers do not routinely give feedback to community partners. Yet, community partners who receive feedback are motivated for further engagement as they feel it supports their learning and development while prompting researchers to reflect on the impact of community partners [ 17 ]. One of the ways in which researchers can provide such feedback would be to bring study findings back to the community—a lacking area in the research process, as noted by the community members. A survey of 109 community partners involved in health research with academic institutions [ 18 ] reported “research results disseminated to the community” as one of the top indicators of successful community engagement. Taken together, these findings suggest the need for culturally relevant and appropriate strategies to promote mutual feedback and better integration of community partners in the research process.

Many of the challenges discussed by the forum participants in the subthemes of mission-driven vs. checking the box, breadth and depth of engagement, and conflict in community engaged research occurred because priorities, motivations, and ways of working differed between researchers and community partners, which caused conflict and power struggles. Some of the practical issues associated with these subthemes (e.g., difficulty recruiting a set of experienced partners well connected to the target community or patient group, long-term commitment needed from partners, and time and cost limits imposed on studies) were recognized in a focus group study [ 19 ] in which problems connecting with the right person at the right time, individual member reluctance, and lack of skills and training were identified as main barriers to stakeholder engagement.

As suggested by our participants, clear and transparent communication is central to resolving potential conflicts in community engaged research. In particular, transparency in communication between community partners and researchers in terms of budget and research administrative processes [ 20 ] has been noted as key factors for improved community engaged research partnerships. Additionally, shared training opportunities for community partners and researchers may be helpful to build community partner skills about research and facilitate engagement on both sides [ 19 ]. The subtheme of recruitment and selection of community partners underscores the importance and need for the development of community capacity to facilitate more meaningful engagement in research. At the policy level, community engaged research needs to build in appropriate time, and funders should acknowledge this need as part of providing an appropriate context and budget for community engagement, to create the conditions where engagement has the potential to have a positive impact.

Forum participants considered a variety of impact assessments for their research and overall reported positive impact of community engagement on research, ensuring its appropriateness and relevance. They noted that it was difficult to have a common impact measure because of differing goals of engagement between projects. Indeed, a recent review of 68 studies addressing measures of community engagement reported that most studies used narrative descriptions of impact data [ 21 ]. Similarly, a mixed-methods study in which documents of 200 primary care research projects were examined and 191 researchers were surveyed noted qualitative reporting of community engaged research impact for study processes (e.g., designing methods or developing participant information) or on individual principal investigators (e.g., developing the grant application, managing the research, conducting the research, or the reputation of the principal investigator’s institution) [ 22 ]. A qualitative investigation [ 23 ] in the United Kingdom also revealed diverse views among stakeholders on what to measure and how to measure their impact. Taken together, the evidence base as to what constitutes adequate impact measures of community engaged research seems evolving. The findings suggest further substantive methodological development in terms of the way in which the impact of community engaged research is measured and reported, a clearer conceptualization of the nature of “impact,” and qualitative and quantitative methods for assessment of impact [ 23 ].

There are a number of study limitations to discuss. First, this was a convenience sample that was created for the purpose of the forum. In particular, we targeted researchers and community members who were already supportive of the idea of community involvement in research. Therefore, generalizability of the findings is limited. Additionally, we did not collect detailed sociodemographic information about the forum participants. The interpretation of the qualitative data might have looked different had we had this information such as age, working status (working/retired), or other relevant characteristics (roles, past experiences, etc.). Finally, it is possible that some of the moderators and notetakers of the concurrent discussion groups may not have been independent of the participants in his/her group and might have influenced the discussion either positively or negatively. We attempted to minimize the potential bias and impact of moderators and notetakers on the nature and direction of the discussion in each group by training them prior to the forum and offering them with an interview guide.

Successful implementation of healthcare interventions relies on community engagement at every stage, ranging from assessing and improving the acceptability of innovations to the sustainability of implemented interventions. In order to optimize the implementation of healthcare interventions, researchers, administrators, and policymakers must weigh the benefits and costs of complex multidimensional arrays of healthcare policies, strategies, and treatments [ 24 ]. This cannot be accomplished without meaningful engagement of key community partners throughout the research process. Challenges identified by the study teams underscore the need for enhanced community engagement training, joint planning of engagement activities, agreeing upon community partner roles and expectations in the early-planning stages of the proposed study, and increased opportunities for community participation in the research process.

Availability of data and materials

The data (anonymized transcripts from the group interviews used for the purpose of this analysis) that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Clinical and Translational Science Awards

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The study was supported, in part, by grants from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1TR003098 and U54AI108332). Additional funding was received from the National Institute of Nursing Research (P30NR018093) and National Institute on Aging (R01AG062649). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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HRH conceived of the study. All authors contributed to data acquisition. HRH, AX, KJWM, SO, JC, and MB analyzed and interpreted the qualitative data regarding the community engaged research experiences and preferences. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Han, HR., Xu, A., Mendez, K.J.W. et al. Exploring community engaged research experiences and preferences: a multi-level qualitative investigation. Res Involv Engagem 7 , 19 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40900-021-00261-6

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Community Engagement in Research: Frameworks for Education and Peer Review

Both authors conceptualized, wrote, and edited the article.

Community engagement in research may enhance a community's ability to address its own health needs and health disparities issues while ensuring that researchers understand community priorities. However, there are researchers with limited understanding of and experience with effective methods of engaging communities. Furthermore, limited guidance is available for peer-review panels on evaluating proposals for research that engages communities.

The National Institutes of Health Director's Council of Public Representatives developed a community engagement framework that includes values, strategies to operationalize each value, and potential outcomes of their use, as well as a peer-review framework for evaluating research that engages communities.

Use of these frameworks for educating researchers to create and sustain authentic community–academic partnerships will increase accountability and equality between the partners.

THE SIGNIFICANT RENAISSANCE of community engagement in research stems from demands by community leaders, policymakers, and funders for meaningful community involvement to address health problems facing communities. The published peer-reviewed literature and numerous reports point to the many potential benefits of community engagement in research. 1 – 16 According to the Institute of Medicine, for example, community-based participatory research increases community understanding of the issues under study and enhances researchers' ability to understand community priorities, the importance of addressing community priorities, and the need for culturally sensitive communications and research approaches. 17

Several models for community engagement in research exist, including community-based participatory research, 18 , 19 empowerment evaluation, 20 , 21 participatory or community action research, 22 and participatory rapid appraisal. 23 Some confusion exists about the definition of community engagement in research, however, because many researchers use the terms interchangeably.

Researchers conducting community engagement in research need appropriate education and training not typically offered by traditional doctoral and master's level curricula. The field clearly needs long-term programs that integrate the knowledge and skills of experienced community and researcher partners in high-quality participatory research to build the capacity of young and traditionally trained researchers and scientists interested in pursuing community engagement in research. 24

Funding agencies often find it difficult to assess participatory research proposals, especially if they use traditional review criteria that are not necessarily applicable to participatory research. 25 A 2004 review 26 points out that when reviewers in typical study sections are not familiar with community-based participatory research or are even skeptical about the approach's merits, investigators find it challenging to obtain funding for their community-based participatory research projects through conventional peer-review mechanisms.

Many funders include members of the lay public in their peer-review panels to evaluate proposals from the patient's or family member's perspective. 27 , 28 Lay public reviewers help scientists understand the impact of the research on the community and help them make appropriate funding recommendations that address the needs and concerns of patients, health care providers, and family members. 29 However, many scientists are concerned that lay peer reviewers do not have the scientific expertise required to offer an appropriate evaluation. 30 , 31 A survey of the National Cancer Institute of Canada's scientific grant review panel members found that not all scientists value lay contributions and many lay members feel insecure about the importance of their contributions. 32

Because of these barriers, community engagement in research is probably underused. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director's Council of Public Representatives (COPR), a federal advisory committee to the NIH director, addressed these issues and produced this article to advance community engagement in research. We describe approaches that funders and educational institutions can use to develop community engagement in research training programs and peer-review processes that can expand the community engagement in research field.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH AT THE NIH

Many of NIH's 27 institutes and centers encourage some investigators to engage the public in their research. For example, NIH sponsored the Partners in Research Program, which supports partnerships between academic or scientific institutions and community organizations to study methods for improving public understanding of research and enhance outreach to the public by scientists. 33

Several NIH institutes and centers, particularly institutes with large clinical research portfolios, offer training in community engagement for NIH-sponsored investigators. 34 , 35 However, NIH has no centralized training programs dedicated to enhancing researcher or community skills in community engagement in research.

Although NIH-sponsored investigators are not required to include community members in clinical research, except as research participants, some NIH institutes and centers encourage community participation in some of their programs. The NIH has no centralized policy, however, requiring the involvement of communities in NIH-funded clinical research when community engagement is relevant to the study.

The NIH sometimes creates a special emphasis panel or an ad hoc committee to review applications submitted in response to a request for applications or a very specific research topic. 26 These reviewers are typically experts in the request for applications focus area and receive specific instructions related to the proposals that they are asked to review. The NIH also includes public representatives in some of its peer-review panels.

Several NIH institutes and centers have developed special review criteria for proposals involving community participation in research. For example, reviewers of the Clinical and Translational Science Award proposals are asked to consider whether the centers will effectively involve the Clinical and Translational Science Award's community in “clinical and translational research priority setting, participation, and follow-up.” 36

In 2007, NIH initiated a formal review of its peer-review system. The final draft of the 2007–2008 Peer Review Self-Study for NIH included “continue piloting the use of patients and their advocates in clinical research review” as one recommended action to enhance reviewer quality. 37

THE ROLE OF COPR IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH

The NIH Director's Council of Public Representatives consists of 21 members of the public who advise, recommend, and consult with the NIH director on medical research, NIH policies, and programs that involve the public. This group has a deep interest in community engagement in research, as illustrated by the 2004 workshop, “Inviting Public Participation in Clinical Research: Building Trust Through Partnerships,” that COPR sponsored in partnership with the NIH Public Trust Initiative. The council issued the workshop proceedings and a report with recommendations. 38 , 39 In addition, two COPR members, Marjorie Mau, MD, and Syed Ahmed, MD, DrPH (one of the coauthors of this article), were members of the Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director on NIH Peer Review.

In discussions with former NIH Director Elias Zerhouni, MD, COPR emphasized the importance of participation in research and recommended that the NIH adopt a fourth “P,” for “participation,” in NIH's vision of medicine as being “more Predictive, Personalized, Preemptive, and Participatory.” 40 The council went further to establish the Role of the Public in Research work group to explore how to operationalize the fourth “P” and address concerns about community engagement in research by producing the following deliverables:

• Definitions and operating principles of “community engagement” and “public participation,”
• Guidelines for educating researchers and the lay public on community engagement, and
• Criteria and guidance that peer-review panels can use to gauge community engagement.

We present COPR's three deliverables.

COPR FRAMEWORKS FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN RESEARCH EDUCATION AND PEER REVIEW

The Role of the Public Work Group was formed in 2006 to produce COPR's community engagement in research deliverables. The work group included approximately 10 COPR members who volunteered to join the group because of their experience as academic or community partners in research or because of a strong interest in community engagement in research.

COPR's Methodology

The work group explored the value of public participation in research in 2006 through 2008. The group invited community and academic experts representing many sectors in community engagement, public participation in research, grant administration, training, peer review, ethics, and community-based research to meet with the work group. At these meetings, the work group learned, for example, that understanding a community's social and cultural characteristics, as identified by community members, improves research quality, ensures the research's relevance, addresses health disparities, and enhances the research's impact. However, presenters and members identified several concerns, including limited researcher understanding of public participation in research's value, limited researcher experience in this area, and limited guidance for peer-review panels on evaluating community engagement proposals.

The work group conducted a very broad search of PubMed and the Internet using many search terms (such as “participatory action research,” “peer review,” “partnership,” and “collaboration”) and combinations of these terms. This search generated approximately 650 peer-reviewed journal articles, reports from government agencies and nonprofit organizations, course and curriculum descriptions, bibliographies, and Web sites from around the world.

The work group produced initial drafts of its deliverables based on its internal discussions in 2007 and 2008 (including four face-to-face meetings and many teleconferences), discussions with invited experts, COPR's previous reports on public trust and human participants in research, and literature search results. Specifically, the work group reviewed definitions of “community engagement” 41 – 55 and “public participation” 56 , 57 created by NIH and other experts to produce the first deliverable. The group developed the second and third deliverables by identifying relevant strategies for educating researchers and criteria for peer review of community engagement in research proposals from the literature. The group refined these strategies and criteria by combining or eliminating some and revising others to produce the frameworks.

Work group members reviewed and presented drafts of each deliverable to the full COPR before the committee's approval of the final version. In October 2008, COPR presented its frameworks to Raynard Kington, MD, PhD, acting director and deputy director of NIH. He accepted the frameworks on behalf of NIH and recommended that NIH form an internal work group to implement the framework. The work group cochairs subsequently developed the current article, with input from the entire COPR, to present the frameworks and describe the methods used to develop them.

Public Participation

Public participation is based on the belief that those who are affected by a decision have a right to be involved in the decision-making process. 58 , 59 Public participation is the process by which an organization consults with interested or affected individuals, organizations, and government entities before making a decision. Public participation is a two-way communication and collaborative problem-solving process with the goal of achieving better and more acceptable decisions.

Community Engagement

Community engagement in research is a process of inclusive participation that supports mutual respect of values, strategies, and actions for authentic partnership of people affiliated with or self-identified by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of the community of focus. 45 , 48 , 60 , 61

Community engagement is a core element of any research effort involving communities. It requires academic members to become part of the community and community members to become part of the research team, creating a unique working and learning environment before, during, and after the research.

Operating Principle

Community engagement is a process that requires power sharing, maintenance of equity, and flexibility in pursuing goals, methods, and time frames to fit the priorities, needs, and capacities within the cultural context of communities. Community engagement in research is often operationalized in the form of partnerships, collaboratives, and coalitions that do the following: help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices.

Core Principles for Education on Community Engagement in Research

The NIH Director's Council of Public Representatives' framework for education on community engagement in research targets investigators and communities. The framework is built on 5 core principles. Corresponding values are listed in Table 1 .

Values, Strategies, and Outcomes of Community Engagement in Research (CER)

Note. COPR=National Institutes of Health Director's Council of Public Representatives.

Definition and scope of community engagement in research (values 1 and 5).

Community and academic partners need to understand the definition of “community” and what community engagement involves in their program. New investigators should understand the community engagement activity and communities and academic partners must identify the project's goals, which should be based on a relevant community issue.

Strong community–academic partnership (values 2 and 8).

Successful partnerships are based on a mutual understanding of partners' needs, capacities, and goals. Developing a partnership takes time, skill, and mutual respect. A formal agreement is helpful but not sufficient because relationships must extend beyond legal documents.

Equitable power and responsibility (values 3 and 4).

Community engagement projects can involve community partners in all aspects of the research process, recognizing that both community and academic partners bring expertise. Depending on available expertise, infrastructure support, and interest levels, partners should take responsibility for advancing different research aspects. This creates mutual respect, willingness to share power, and accountability for each project aspect. Community engagement projects encourage, instead of merely tolerating, diverse populations and perspectives.

Capacity building (values 6, 7, and 13).

Community and academic partners share resources and funding. Communities increase their capacity to address their health issues by learning about different aspects of the research process. Academics increase their own capacity to conduct community engagement research, enhance the authenticity of their data, and obtain assistance in recruiting and retaining research participants.

Effective dissemination plan (values 9, 10, 11, and 12).

Bidirectional, continuous communication keeps community engagement projects moving. Transparency in all activities builds trust and both partners must own all data gathered. Partners must make joint decisions on disseminating their research results. The translation of findings into policies or programs must be based on the research project's agreed-upon goals.

Framework for Education on Community Engagement in Research

The first framework ( Table 1 ) describes 13 values that are relevant to community engagement and identifies strategies to operationalize each value and potential outcomes from those strategies. The process for training researchers in community engagement should be based on the five principles and the framework.

Framework for Peer Review of Community Engagement Proposals

Table 2 provides suggested criteria for reviewers to use as a framework when they are reviewing proposals involving community engagement as a key component of the research. Principal investigators might come from an academic institution, whereas coinvestigators might come from an academic institution or a community organization. This table addresses both types of investigators because an effective arrangement is one in which community engagement research projects are led by a team of academic and community partners as coinvestigators.

Criteria for Applications for Research Involving Communities

The NIH Director's Council of Public Representatives developed its frameworks for community engagement in research after reviewing its previous reports on human participants and public trust in research, meeting with experts in a range of related fields, and conducting an extensive review of published and unpublished literature. The council's research results highlight the importance of educating investigators and communities on how to engage communities in research and ensuring that reviewers are familiar with the principles of community engagement in research and understand the value of this approach. In addition, COPR recognizes that the frameworks should be evaluated and the results used to refine the frameworks and increase their utility.

By incorporating the frameworks presented in this article, NIH, other funders, researchers, and communities will help expand the cadre of researchers who are well prepared to form authentic partnerships with communities and ensure that proposals for community engagement research receive a fair and appropriate review. We hope that this will increase the amount of high-quality community engagement research that researchers and communities conduct and that NIH supports. This will, in turn, have a positive impact on the health of communities.

Acknowledgments

Both authors acknowledge the current and former Council of Public Representatives (COPR) members for their participation, suggestions, and comments throughout the process: Naomi Cottoms, MS Arkansas; Craig Beam, BA, and James S. Wong, PhD, California; Brent M. Jaquet, BA, and Michael Manganiello, MPA, Washington, DC; Nicole Johnson, MA, MPH, and John W. Walsh, BS, Florida; Carlos A. O. Pavão, BA, MPA, Georgia; Marjorie Mau, MD, MS, Hawaii; Micah L. Berman, JD, and Elmer R. Freeman, MSW, Massachusetts; Christina Clark, MA, MBA, Michigan; Valda Boyd Ford, MPH, MS, RN, and Beth Furlong, PhD, JD, RN, Nebraska; Lora M. Church, BS, New Mexico; Wendy Chaite, Esq, Matthew Margo, LLM, and James H. Wendorf, MA, New York; Cynthia Lindquist Mala, PhD, MPA, North Dakota; Nicolas Linares-Orama, PhD, Puerto Rico; Rep Eileen Naughton, JD, Rhode Island; Linda Crew-McNamara, MBA, RN, South Carolina; and Anne Muñoz-Furlong, BA, Virginia. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Debby Berlyne, PhD, with this article. In addition, the authors thank Kelli L. Carrington, MA, executive secretary, COPR, for her perspective and support to produce this document.

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Covers 1995-present. A Read Aloud button is available for text-to-speech for much of the content.

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• We have shared online many free sample topics as listed on our website.
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Community Development Research Topics & Dissertation Titles

Topic suggestions for research in community development.

With our unique capability to suggest relevant and timely topics, we act as a compass, guiding individuals and organizations to areas of utmost significance. By offering a roadmap of pertinent themes and dialogues, we not only foster informed conversations but also catalyze meaningful transformations within communities. Whether one is a beginner keen on understanding the basics or a seasoned expert looking to explore deeper facets, our topic suggestions offer clarity, direction, and inspiration, ensuring community development initiatives are both impactful and well-informed. Our help serves as a pivotal resource for those venturing into the sphere of community development research topics.

✔  Effects of Cultural practices and Knowledge systems on community development:  The study will examine how cultural practices within a community affect community development. In addition, the researcher will examine the impact of knowledge systems within a community on development.  The research will also recommend the best ways to employ cultural practices and knowledge systems in promoting community development. 

✔  Gender responsibilities in community development :  In many societal settings, different genders are assigned different roles. These roles are also assigned based on age and the strength of individuals within the community. This research will assess the role of shared gender responsibilities toward community development.

✔  Effects of technology on indigenous community development .:  Indigenous communities engage in traditional methods of doing things. This study will focus on changes that indigenous communities go through with the introduction of technology, how they adapt to such changes, and their influence on community development. 

✔  Impact of religion and socio-economic differences on community development: A Case study:  There are many religious practices all over the world and with the freedom of worship; people within a community choose the religion that suits them. Some communities have different religious beliefs as well as socioeconomic statuses. This study will assess the impact that those differences have on the growth of a community.

✔  Understanding the differences between urban and rural community development:  Urban and rural community settings do not have equal opportunities in terms of resources, technology, and knowledge. This study will compare the two community settings and how the differences in the two communities present an opportunity for them to grow together. Request  help with a dissertation topic in MA community development from our firm and you will get credible services.

✔  The interrelations between community development and availability of health services:  This study will use multiple case studies to gather data from two communities. The study will examine the differences in community development based on the availability of healthcare services. It will, therefore, be determined whether better health services lead to better community development and vice versa.

To come up with a great topic means that you need to first have some idea or area of interest that you prefer and even where you may need expert help to fine-tune that; this way you will be able to  write and defend a research proposal on community development  and even where you may need us to assist, it will be easier for you.

The Gravity of an Impactful Research Title about Community

In the realm of research, the title is the first point of contact for potential readers. An impactful research title not only piques interest but also succinctly encapsulates the essence of your study on community. It's a window into the study's objectives, offering a snapshot of its scope, methodology, and anticipated outcomes. Understanding how to develop a defendable title is a very crucial step in the research process.

The emphasis is on the critical role that a well-crafted research title plays in attracting attention, generating interest, and conveying the significance of community-focused research. A compelling title should not only be catchy but also reflect the depth and importance of the study, drawing the audience into the research topic. Before identifying a great title, it is significant to identify research gaps in the context of community and this involves a systematic approach. Researchers can begin by conducting a comprehensive literature review to understand the existing body of work. This process helps in identifying what has already been studied, published, and established within the field. By analyzing the existing literature on community, researchers can pinpoint areas where there is a lack of sufficient information, conflicting findings, or unanswered questions and so come up with appealing titles for further research about community.

To settle for the most suitable title for a community-focused research project, one should consider other key factors. For instance, the title should be clear and concise, providing a glimpse into the central theme of the study. It should effectively communicate the research's purpose, scope, and potential contributions. Additionally, a compelling title often incorporates keywords that resonate with the target audience and reflect the core concepts of the research. Moreover, a suitable research title for a community-oriented study should be relevant and timely. It should address current issues or gaps in knowledge within the community context, demonstrating the research's potential to make a meaningful impact. The inclusion of terms that evoke a sense of community, collaboration, and social relevance can enhance the title's resonance.

Furthermore, researchers should strive for creativity and originality in their titles. A unique and memorable title can set a research project apart and generate interest. However, it is crucial to balance creativity with clarity to avoid confusion or misinterpretation.

Ideally, the gravity of an impactful research title about community lies in its ability to attract attention, convey the research's essence, and contribute to its overall impact. By considering factors such as clarity, relevance, and creativity, researchers can identify a title that not only captures the essence of their work but also resonates with the broader community and academic audience.

Navigating Community Research Topics: A Comprehensive Guide

1. unraveling research topics related to community problems.

Every community, irrespective of its size or location, grapples with challenges. Addressing these community problems through focused research can lead to actionable insights. Delving into this realm can encompass:

• Socio-economic Dynamics: Analyze how rising unemployment rates might fracture community ties or how economic disparities influence communal cohesion.
• Healthcare Access: Investigate the ripple effects of inadequate healthcare facilities on community well-being, emphasizing physical and mental health outcomes.
• Urbanization Concerns: Examine the impacts of gentrification, assessing its implications for original community members and exploring potential solutions for harmonious urban development.

2. Spotlight on Community Based Research Topics

Community-based research signifies a collaborative approach, integrating community members into the heart of the research process. This approach ensures the results resonate with the community's authentic experiences. Potential topics include:

• Community Agriculture Initiatives: Delve into how community gardens or urban farming projects impact local engagement, nutrition, and environmental consciousness.
• Educational Outreach: Assess the effectiveness and long-term impacts of community-driven educational initiatives, focusing on both children and adult learners.
• Conservation Collaborations: Explore how local communities perceive, participate in, and benefit from conservation projects, ensuring sustainable ecological futures.

3. Diverse Avenues of Community Related Research Topics

Beyond immediate community issues, there's a broader universe of community research encompassing various forms of communal gatherings:

• Digital Communities: Investigate how online communities, from social media groups to professional networks, shape individual identities, foster connections, and occasionally exacerbate societal divides.
• Professional Cohorts: Dive into niche professional communities, like healthcare or arts, to comprehend their internal dynamics, challenges, and contributions to the larger societal fabric.
• Cultural Cohesion: Study the role of community arts, music, and literature programs in promoting intercultural understanding, preserving traditions, and fostering a sense of shared identity.

Community research topics are as diverse as communities themselves. While the challenges each community faces are unique, the common thread is the pursuit of understanding and improvement. As we immerse ourselves in detailed research, we are not only gaining knowledge but also paving the path for actionable insights and tangible change. Embracing these topics with depth and dedication can lead to a more informed and cohesive societal fabric.

Topics for a Dissertation on Community - Based Problems

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Latest Research Areas on Community Development

Best-Programs-Community-Development-Courses-Online.pdf   |   Universities-that-offer-Masters-in-Community-Development.pdf   |   Why-Studying-Community-Development-is-Such-important.pdf

More Free Sample Research Topics On Community Development

• A study on the interrelations between community development and availability of health services.
• The Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility in Organizational Performance and Success.
• The Benefits of Local Government Administration on Community Development.
• Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Sustainable Management Activities towards Customer Satisfaction.
• An Investigation into the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Sustainability of Organizations.
• The Impact of Labor Training and development on the Performance of an Organization
• An Investigation into the Contribution of Public Infrastructure towards Community Development.
• An Investigation into the Role of Non- governmental Organizations in Community Development.
• The Benefits of Organizational Involvement in Transformative Community Development.
• An Investigation into the Factors Influencing Women Empowerment and Community Development.
• The Benefits of Using Technology for Economic Advancement and its Impact on the Development of the Community.

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How to Conduct a Great Research Project on Comm. Development

As a scholar, you are likely to view the community development course as the appreciation of a balanced community that has people with a similar vision. Development in itself is the process of improving the strengths of a particular community. In general, development means that the people of a community are responsible to see that change takes place. In the modern world, people have rested all the responsibility for the development of a community on their leaders. As a scholar, you have a task to evaluate a vital area within community development. Here are some hints on writing a great MA community development dissertation project : community development as a course that is crucial to return the communal responsibility, discussing the state in the current world where people in communities are living in fear, shame, and silence, ways in which virtues such as sharing, kindness, honesty, and others can be restored in a community, the evaluation of community development on history, traditions, and social structures, discussing the process of ownership, control, decision-making, and participation in a community, and the evaluating why people give power to their leaders.It is imperative to avoid a dissatisfactory topic if you want to write a master's dissertation that your instructor will award a high grade. Take a significant step towards your academic excellence by working on a suitable dissertation topic. You need to give an account of how collective action can be taken to address the problems affecting the community; however, this can only happen if you have a very relevant topic. 

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Connecting With Community for Equity in Research

The Community Coalition for Equity in Research creates tools and materials for researchers to help address common issues identified during the study review process. This guide offers best practices for fostering connections with community members and organizations before conducting research. It also offers tips on how to approach the community.

Why Does This Matter?

Developing meaningful relationships with community members and organizations is vital to conducting equitable, community-driven research. Forming these relationships can be difficult and researchers often do not know where to start. It is important to create truly bidirectional relationships between researchers and community members as this will increase collaboration on both current and future projects and ensure that community priorities are centered in research.

Action Steps for Connecting with the Community

Finding the Right Fit:

• Closely examine an organization’s history, mission statement, and staff. At first glance, two organizations may appear to have similar missions, but they may actually serve distinct parts of that population or community. For example, the Queer Neighborhood Council and the Mayor’s Office on LGBTQ+ Advancement both work on queer rights; however, their reach, approach, and scope are different. One is a grassroots organization focused on community-identified needs and the other is a governmental office that has a broader citywide mission.
• Use word of mouth to find people and organizations that best represent your study populations. Look beyond traditional nonprofits – such as community health centers, faith groups, educational leaders, and community advocates.
• Be intentional about who you engage/approach. For example, the lead organizer, CEO, or director may not be as involved in everyday community matters as other staff members.

Creating Interest in Your Research Idea:

• Be open to change. There might be something else of more importance to the community than your research project. Work together to find alignment or redirect where possible.
• Get advice from people who know the community on the best ways to share information about your research study.
• Connect with people by sharing why this research idea or topic matters to you.
• Share the potential day-to-day impacts of this research as they relate to this community. Be careful not to overpromise, but think creatively about relevant information or resources that may be useful.
• Be aware of previous research activities within this community. Bringing together a representative group of community members could help you learn about their previous experiences with research, including any feelings of fatigue or burnout. You should also ask community leaders what their expectations are  from this research.

Practicing Reciprocity:

• Share skills, opportunities, networks, and/or resources that can benefit community members.
• Facilitate and support connections between community members, organizations, and research groups in your network.
• Other examples of giving back could include adding community-generated questions in a survey, helping the community frame the findings of a study to help with fundraising, or helping them apply for grants.

Tips for Connecting With the Community

• Use plain language in all content and explain terms where needed. We recommend using this plain language checklist [PDF] for your materials.
• Make content available in the languages best suited for your audience. We recommend these local and certified translation and interpretation services [PDF] for your materials.
• Build budgets that provide equitable resources for community partners working on research projects and ensure inclusive recruitment of diverse research participants. Connect with community leaders to think about appropriate compensation. We recommend these practices for building equitable budgets in research.

Other Resources and Reading

• “Toolkit for Developing Community Partnerships”[PDF]  (p.11-13; 16) – This toolkit developed by Southern California CTSI broadly introduces community based participatory research principles, guidance on developing community partnerships, and case examples of partnerships.
• Fostering Partnerships for Community Engagement [PDF] – Developed by the Urban Institute, this gives a comprehensive step-by-step guide to developing strong community partnerships and includes guiding questions to consider for each step.
• Building Trust in Communities – The University of Minnesota Extension School gives easy, concrete examples on how to build trust with communities and why it is important.

Review Your Study With Us

The Community Coalition for Equity in Research serves as a free resource for high-quality community input on research proposals and protocols, as well as a trusted communication channel between researchers and community stakeholders.

Please email [email protected] if you are interested in having your research study reviewed by our coalition members.

1000+ FREE Research Topics & Title Ideas

If you’re at the start of your research journey and are trying to figure out which research topic you want to focus on, you’ve come to the right place. Select your area of interest below to view a comprehensive collection of potential research ideas.

Research Topic FAQs

What (exactly) is a research topic.

A research topic is the subject of a research project or study – for example, a dissertation or thesis. A research topic typically takes the form of a problem to be solved, or a question to be answered.

A good research topic should be specific enough to allow for focused research and analysis. For example, if you are interested in studying the effects of climate change on agriculture, your research topic could focus on how rising temperatures have impacted crop yields in certain regions over time.

To learn more about the basics of developing a research topic, consider our free research topic ideation webinar.

What constitutes a good research topic?

A strong research topic comprises three important qualities : originality, value and feasibility.

• Originality – a good topic explores an original area or takes a novel angle on an existing area of study.
• Value – a strong research topic provides value and makes a contribution, either academically or practically.
• Feasibility – a good research topic needs to be practical and manageable, given the resource constraints you face.

To learn more about what makes for a high-quality research topic, check out this post .

What's the difference between a research topic and research problem?

A research topic and a research problem are two distinct concepts that are often confused. A research topic is a broader label that indicates the focus of the study , while a research problem is an issue or gap in knowledge within the broader field that needs to be addressed.

To illustrate this distinction, consider a student who has chosen “teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom” as their research topic. This research topic could encompass any number of issues related to teenage pregnancy such as causes, prevention strategies, health outcomes for mothers and babies, etc.

Within this broad category (the research topic) lies potential areas of inquiry that can be explored further – these become the research problems . For example:

• What factors contribute to higher rates of teenage pregnancy in certain communities?
• How do different types of parenting styles affect teen pregnancy rates?
• What interventions have been successful in reducing teenage pregnancies?

Simply put, a key difference between a research topic and a research problem is scope ; the research topic provides an umbrella under which multiple questions can be asked, while the research problem focuses on one specific question or set of questions within that larger context.

How can I find potential research topics for my project?

There are many steps involved in the process of finding and choosing a high-quality research topic for a dissertation or thesis. We cover these steps in detail in this video (also accessible below).

How can I find quality sources for my research topic?

Finding quality sources is an essential step in the topic ideation process. To do this, you should start by researching scholarly journals, books, and other academic publications related to your topic. These sources can provide reliable information on a wide range of topics. Additionally, they may contain data or statistics that can help support your argument or conclusions.

Identifying Relevant Sources

When searching for relevant sources, it’s important to look beyond just published material; try using online databases such as Google Scholar or JSTOR to find articles from reputable journals that have been peer-reviewed by experts in the field.

You can also use search engines like Google or Bing to locate websites with useful information about your topic. However, be sure to evaluate any website before citing it as a source—look for evidence of authorship (such as an “About Us” page) and make sure the content is up-to-date and accurate before relying on it.

Evaluating Sources

Once you’ve identified potential sources for your research project, take some time to evaluate them thoroughly before deciding which ones will best serve your purpose. Consider factors such as author credibility (are they an expert in their field?), publication date (is the source current?), objectivity (does the author present both sides of an issue?) and relevance (how closely does this source relate to my specific topic?).

By researching the current literature on your topic, you can identify potential sources that will help to provide quality information. Once you’ve identified these sources, it’s time to look for a gap in the research and determine what new knowledge could be gained from further study.

How can I find a good research gap?

Finding a strong gap in the literature is an essential step when looking for potential research topics. We explain what research gaps are and how to find them in this post.

How should I evaluate potential research topics/ideas?

When evaluating potential research topics, it is important to consider the factors that make for a strong topic (we discussed these earlier). Specifically:

• Originality
• Feasibility

So, when you have a list of potential topics or ideas, assess each of them in terms of these three criteria. A good topic should take a unique angle, provide value (either to academia or practitioners), and be practical enough for you to pull off, given your limited resources.

Finally, you should also assess whether this project could lead to potential career opportunities such as internships or job offers down the line. Make sure that you are researching something that is relevant enough so that it can benefit your professional development in some way. Additionally, consider how each research topic aligns with your career goals and interests; researching something that you are passionate about can help keep motivation high throughout the process.

How can I assess the feasibility of a research topic?

When evaluating the feasibility and practicality of a research topic, it is important to consider several factors.

First, you should assess whether or not the research topic is within your area of competence. Of course, when you start out, you are not expected to be the world’s leading expert, but do should at least have some foundational knowledge.

Time commitment

When considering a research topic, you should think about how much time will be required for completion. Depending on your field of study, some topics may require more time than others due to their complexity or scope.

Additionally, if you plan on collaborating with other researchers or institutions in order to complete your project, additional considerations must be taken into account such as coordinating schedules and ensuring that all parties involved have adequate resources available.

Resources needed

It’s also critically important to consider what type of resources are necessary in order to conduct the research successfully. This includes physical materials such as lab equipment and chemicals but can also include intangible items like access to certain databases or software programs which may be necessary depending on the nature of your work. Additionally, if there are costs associated with obtaining these materials then this must also be factored into your evaluation process.

Potential risks

It’s important to consider the inherent potential risks for each potential research topic. These can include ethical risks (challenges getting ethical approval), data risks (not being able to access the data you’ll need), technical risks relating to the equipment you’ll use and funding risks (not securing the necessary financial back to undertake the research).

If you’re looking for more information about how to find, evaluate and select research topics for your dissertation or thesis, check out our free webinar here . Alternatively, if you’d like 1:1 help with the topic ideation process, consider our private coaching services .

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100+ Social Issues Research Paper Topics

There are many issues in society to write about, making social issue essay topics some of the most fun. However, choosing a social topic for an essay isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when there are several social essay topics. The secret to choosing the best among the many social topics is knowing what makes the best social topics for an essay, the best.

This article will give you workable tips for choosing a great topic on specific social issues, argumentative essay topics , and social topics. We will also throw in 100 topics on social issues; they can serve as your social topic or inspiration for choosing.

What Are Top Tips for Choosing Social Topics to Write About?

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When it comes to social problems essay topics, the list is endless; there are so many social issues to talk about. However, not all social problem topics will make a great paper, and the wrong social issue topic can reduce your grade. Below are the top practical tips for choosing social issues topics for presentation.

• Choose easy social issues to write about – avoid trying to impress your professor by choosing complex social problems topics you can’t do justice to.
• Choose social problem topics or social media research topics that your audience can relate to and find interesting.
• When choosing from the myriads of social problems to write about, choose those with sufficient information. Also, you don’t want social problem essay topics you’ll have to walk miles to gather information on.
• Pick as many good social issues to write about as possible; chances are you will change issues essay topics midway. You don’t have to return to searching for current issues to write about.
• Source for articles that address problems in society to write about for an idea on how to write yours.

The “best” social topics, like social commentary essay topics, are those you’re passionate about. It would help if you cared about the social issue ideas you’ve decided to write on to do real justice to the paper. Writing an essay on them will be torture if you don’t care or know anything about social commentary ideas. Also, if your audience is clueless about a particular topic, consider omitting technical and social significance topics.

Interesting social topics are not hard to find if you know where to look. We will give you a social issues topics list here, but you can still find social issues ideas all over the internet. Find our social topics list below containing interesting and uncommon social issues for a distinction-worthy paper.

• Political polarization
• Racism in modern society’s healthcare
• Ageism: the new racism?
• The fairness of labor laws
• Fat-shaming in the corporate world
• Recovering addicts and social injustice
• Child pornography
• Prisoner rights violations: the types
• Making vaccinations mandatory
• Online education impact on obesity
• Increasing employment: the solution to poverty?
• Accessibility of healthcare in mobile clinics
• Women empowerment
• Social development in developing countries
• Overpopulation: a threat?
• How social networks impact friendship
• Age restriction on Instagram
• Social media effect on dependency
• Business Facebook accounts and digital ethics
• Cancel culture and mental health
• Restricting children from social media
• How to stay safe on the internet
• Freedom of speech on Twitter
• High cost of medical procedures
• Obesity in developed countries
• Abortion: legal or illegal?
• Drug addiction
• Hospices: should they be free?
• Why HIV in seniors remains unrecognized
• Dying with dignity
• Pro-life movement origins
• The social acceptance of autism
• Effect of malnourishment on children’s psyche
• Impact of fad diets
• Discrimination against older adults
• Acceptability of homeopathic treatment for children
• The scarcity of and state of available healthcare facilities in rural areas
• Poverty and health problems
• Ensuring global access to drinking water
• Implementing sustainable technology in agriculture
• Benefits of studying the environment
• Urban gardening and food security
• Deteriorating environment effect on labor conditions
• Religion and nature
• Global warming impact on South America
• Effect of racial profiling
• Prevalence of hate speech
• Discrimination against the LGBT community
• Modern feminism: the negative impact on society
• Pregnancy termination: morality vs. legality
• Food culture
• Emotional intelligence: impact on family life
• Harmful effects of financial illiteracy
• The perception of “Defund the police.”
• Evidence of structural racism
• The internet’s influence on human trafficking
• Legalizing prostitution
• Civil disobedience goals
• The consequences of restoring prisoners to society
• Influence of prejudices on criminal justice mechanics
• Prominent civil rights violations in developing countries
• Gender blindness
• Gender dysphoria
• The Khmer Rouge
• Social media and racist bias
• Justification of human rights limitations during a crisis
• How governments can secure freedom of speech
• Can satire be harmful?
• Protection of stateless persons
• Can illegal immigrants be pardoned?
• War on drugs: the negative side effects
• The importance of bipartisan cooperation
• College loans: are they worth it?
• Fake news: a severe problem?
• Charter schools vs. public schools
• The Great New Deal: pros and cons
• Gentrification in America
• Ableism effects in the US
• Death penalty: a just punishment?
• Healthcare: a fundamental human right?
• The right to own a gun
• Does history repeat itself?
• Commercials in kids’ programs
• Fiction vs. nonfiction: which is the better read?
• Video games should be a sport
• Hot dogs: have they caused more harm than good?
• Eating dessert before dinner
• Homework: is it too much?
• Should gym classes be required?
• The essentiality of feminism
• Free healthcare for everyone
• Exploring space: is it worth it?
• Parents’ role in childhood obesity
• Woman vs. man: who is more emotional?
• The effects of campaign finance reform
• Should illegal immigrants be granted residency?

With this list of social topics and others you’ll find on the internet, you can’t be short of social issues to talk about. Choosing the best social issues topics is essential for writing a great research paper,or write dissertation for me ranging from social change topics to social awareness topics. Considering the vast amount of community issues to write about, our tips on choosing from the best social relevance topics will come in handy. If you need professional writing services, you can contact our experts.

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Community Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

The field of community health nursing offers a vast range of community health nursing research paper topics . This is a critical area of study and practice focusing on the delivery of health care services to communities, promoting wellness, preventing diseases, and improving the quality of life across populations. It plays a pivotal role in the contemporary healthcare system by focusing on health promotion, disease prevention, and addressing health disparities in various communities. This piece will delve into a comprehensive list of research paper topics, an in-depth article on the scope and significance of community health nursing, and an overview of the services provided by iResearchNet to assist students in their academic pursuits.

100 Community Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

Community health nursing, a pivotal aspect of the healthcare system, is dedicated to promoting wellness, preventing diseases, and improving the quality of life across various populations. This vital field encompasses a wide range of research topics, reflecting its diverse and comprehensive nature. From health promotion and disease prevention to healthcare policy and global health, community health nursing research paper topics span a broad spectrum of issues that are crucial to understand and explore for the betterment of public health.

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1. Health Promotion:

• Strategies for promoting healthy eating habits in children.
• The role of community health nurses in promoting physical activity.
• Effectiveness of smoking cessation programs led by community health nurses.
• The impact of stress management programs on mental health.
• Strategies for promoting sexual health among teenagers.
• The role of community health nurses in promoting vaccination.
• Effectiveness of alcohol and drug abuse prevention programs.
• Strategies for promoting mental health in the workplace.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of obesity.
• Strategies for promoting healthy aging.

2. Disease Prevention:

• The role of community health nursing in preventing infectious diseases.
• Strategies for preventing chronic diseases in high-risk populations.
• The impact of early detection and intervention on disease outcomes.
• Strategies for preventing mental health disorders in the community.
• The role of community health nursing in preventing maternal and child health problems.
• Strategies for preventing occupational health hazards.
• The impact of environmental health initiatives on disease prevention.
• Strategies for preventing communicable diseases in schools.
• The role of community health nursing in preventing substance abuse.
• Strategies for preventing elder abuse and neglect.

3. Community Assessment:

• The importance of community assessment in public health planning.
• Strategies for conducting a comprehensive community health assessment.
• The role of community health nurses in community assessment.
• The impact of community assessment on healthcare delivery.
• Strategies for assessing mental health needs in the community.
• The role of community assessment in disaster preparedness.
• Strategies for assessing the health needs of vulnerable populations.
• The impact of community assessment on health promotion programs.
• Strategies for assessing environmental health risks in the community.
• The role of community assessment in healthcare policy development.

4. Vulnerable Populations:

• Strategies for addressing the health needs of homeless populations.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for refugees and immigrants.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of LGBTQ+ communities.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing health disparities among minority populations.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of individuals with mental health disorders.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for individuals with disabilities.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of individuals with chronic diseases.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing health disparities among low-income populations.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of individuals with substance abuse disorders.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for survivors of domestic violence.

5. Community-Based Interventions:

• The impact of community-based interventions on reducing rates of infectious diseases.
• Strategies for implementing community-based interventions for chronic disease management.
• The role of community health nurses in developing and implementing community-based interventions.
• The impact of community-based interventions on mental health outcomes.
• Strategies for implementing community-based interventions for maternal and child health.
• The role of community health nursing in community-based interventions for occupational health.
• The impact of community-based interventions on environmental health outcomes.
• Strategies for implementing community-based interventions for substance abuse prevention and treatment.
• The role of community health nursing in community-based interventions for elder care.
• The impact of community-based interventions on reducing health disparities.

6. Mental Health:

• Strategies for promoting mental health awareness in the community.
• The role of community health nursing in mental health care.
• Strategies for addressing the mental health needs of individuals with chronic diseases.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of suicide.
• Strategies for addressing the mental health needs of individuals with substance abuse disorders.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for individuals with anxiety and depression.
• Strategies for addressing the mental health needs of survivors of trauma.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of domestic violence.
• Strategies for promoting mental health among the elderly.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

7. Maternal and Child Health:

• Strategies for promoting maternal and child health in low-income communities.
• The role of community health nursing in maternal and child health care.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of pregnant women with substance abuse disorders.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of infant mortality.
• Strategies for promoting breastfeeding in the community.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for children with chronic diseases.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of adolescents.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of teenage pregnancy.
• Strategies for promoting child immunization in the community.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for children with developmental disabilities.

8. Elderly Care:

• Strategies for promoting healthy aging in the community.
• The role of community health nursing in elderly care.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of the elderly with chronic diseases.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of elder abuse.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for the elderly with dementia.
• Strategies for addressing the health needs of the elderly living in rural areas.
• The impact of community health nursing on reducing rates of falls among the elderly.
• Strategies for promoting physical activity among the elderly.
• The role of community health nursing in caring for the elderly with mobility issues.

9. Healthcare Policy:

• The impact of healthcare policy on community health nursing.
• Strategies for influencing healthcare policy to address community health needs.
• The role of community health nursing in healthcare policy development.
• The impact of healthcare policy on health disparities.
• Strategies for influencing healthcare policy to address the needs of vulnerable populations.
• The role of community health nursing in healthcare policy implementation.
• The impact of healthcare policy on access to care.
• Strategies for influencing healthcare policy to address mental health needs.
• The role of community health nursing in healthcare policy evaluation.
• The impact of healthcare policy on health outcomes.

10. Global Health:

• The role of community health nursing in addressing global health disparities.
• Strategies for controlling infectious diseases in low-income communities.
• The impact of global health initiatives on community health nursing.
• Strategies for addressing the global health needs of refugees and immigrants.
• The role of community health nursing in global health initiatives.
• Strategies for addressing the global health needs of vulnerable populations.
• The impact of community health nursing on global health outcomes.
• Strategies for addressing global health needs through community-based interventions.
• The role of community health nursing in global health policy development.
• The impact of community health nursing on global health promotion.

Researching community health nursing is of paramount importance, as it encompasses a multitude of topics crucial for enhancing public health and reducing health disparities. From developing community-based interventions to addressing the needs of vulnerable populations and crafting effective healthcare policies, the scope of community health nursing research paper topics is vast and integral to the ongoing betterment of global health. We encourage students and researchers alike to explore these topics, contribute to this ever-evolving field, and help shape a healthier future for communities worldwide.

The Range of Community Health Nursing Research Paper Topics

Community health nursing is a crucial branch of nursing practice that focuses on the well-being of entire communities rather than individual patients. Nurses in this field work to improve the overall health of communities by promoting healthy lifestyles, preventing disease, and addressing various health-related issues that affect community members. This article will discuss the significance of community health nursing and the diverse range of research paper topics it offers, emphasizing the importance of health promotion, disease prevention, and community-based interventions.

Health Promotion

One of the primary responsibilities of community health nurses is to promote health within the community. This involves educating community members about healthy behaviors, lifestyle choices, and available resources. Community health nurses often lead campaigns to encourage healthy eating, regular exercise, stress management, and other behaviors that contribute to overall well-being. These efforts help to prevent the onset of diseases and other health issues. There are numerous research paper topics related to health promotion, such as the effectiveness of different health promotion strategies, the role of community health nurses in promoting mental health, and the impact of health promotion campaigns on the rates of chronic diseases.

Disease Prevention

Another critical aspect of community health nursing is disease prevention. Community health nurses play a vital role in preventing the spread of infectious diseases by administering vaccinations, educating the public about preventive measures, and implementing infection control practices. Additionally, they work to prevent chronic diseases by promoting healthy behaviors and lifestyles that can reduce the risk of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Research paper topics in this area could include the role of community health nurses in preventing infectious diseases, the impact of community-based interventions on the rates of chronic diseases, and the strategies for preventing mental health disorders in the community.

Community-Based Interventions

Community-based interventions are strategies implemented in the community to address specific health issues. Community health nurses are often involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of these interventions. They may work with other healthcare professionals, community organizations, and community members to design interventions that are culturally appropriate and tailored to the specific needs of the community. These interventions may focus on various health issues, such as mental health, maternal and child health, elderly care, and substance abuse. Research paper topics in this area could include the effectiveness of community-based interventions in addressing mental health needs, the impact of community-based interventions on maternal and child health outcomes, and the strategies for implementing community-based interventions for substance abuse prevention and treatment.

Community health nursing is pivotal in enhancing well-being, averting illness, and addressing various health-related concerns within communities. The myriad of research paper topics in this domain mirrors its multifaceted nature. From promoting health and preventing disease to orchestrating community-based interventions, there are numerous dimensions where community health nursing can create a profound impact. Researchers are urged to delve into these areas and contribute to the ongoing initiatives to bolster the health and well-being of communities globally. The term “community health nursing” encompasses a broad spectrum of subjects that can facilitate the formulation of effective strategies and interventions to cater to the distinct health needs of various communities. By undertaking research in this domain, we can gain a deeper insight into the challenges encountered by communities and devise innovative solutions to overcome these hurdles and foster health and well-being for all.

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Technical Assistance for Communities and Organizations From the Solar Energy Innovation Network

June 24, 2024 by Kamyria Coney, Alex Kramer, Scott Belding, Tucker Oddleifson

The Solar Energy Innovation Network's (SEIN's) Innovation at SCALE (Solar Community Assistance for Local Equity) initiative provides technical assistance to those who adapt and apply insights developed through SEIN.

One of the main objectives of SEIN is to assist multi-stakeholder teams in identifying and addressing barriers to solar adoption. As a community-focused assistance program, Innovation at SCALE provides an opportunity to share tools, lessons learned, and frameworks that have been developed through SEIN with additional communities and organizations throughout the United States who may encounter similar barriers to solar adoption.

Topics From Solar Energy Innovation Network Round 2: Commercial-Scale Solar and Solar in Rural Communities

Launched in July of 2022, the Innovation at SCALE initiative focused on topics from three SEIN Round 2 projects: Breaking Barriers , Clear Sky Tampa Bay Decision Support Toolkit , and Rhode Island Interconnection Tools . Through direct outreach and Innovation at SCALE's open request portal, more than 25 organizations received assistance through the program. This effort prioritized meeting organizations and communities where they are, and the provided technical assistance reflected communities' needs to begin or continue their clean energy transition.

Assistance included informational resource sharing, identification of community goals, memoranda on solar benefits and technologies, project planning, analysis and training for NREL's REopt model, presentations, and so much more.

More than anything, assistance provided by Innovation at SCALE served those facing barriers to solar by advancing their decision-making and increasing their access to potential solar energy deployment pathways. In some cases, the assistance provided was useful far beyond the community that received assistance. For example, the NREL report Community Resilience Options: A Menu for Enhancing Local Energy Resilience was initially a resilience memo developed for National Grid in Massachusetts and became a resource for many other communities who will benefit from these resilience options.

Organizations and Cities Adapted Solutions to Solar Barriers Based on Solar Energy Innovation Network Round 2 Topics

The Breaking Barriers project, led by Groundswell , designed solar and battery storage projects to improve energy resilience at four historically Black colleges and universities on an adjoining campus in West Atlanta, as well as within the surrounding energy-burdened community.

Innovation at SCALE sought to assist other universities and organizations with similar goals for resilient clean energy deployment. Florida Memorial University (FMU), located in the Miami area, requested assistance navigating their abundant solar potential alongside the region's exposure to natural disasters, as well as the university's priority of reducing energy costs. FMU sought to save money on energy bills through solar while also transforming into a model campus for resilience services to benefit the students, staff, and surrounding communities, but with so many potential solar sites, FMU wanted to know where to start.

NREL researchers leveraged the experience of the Breaking Barriers project as well as the capabilities of the REopt™ platform to compose guidance memoranda on resilience capabilities, model solar production at sites across campus, and to characterize FMU's path to solarization.

In addition, Innovation at SCALE supported the Clear Sky Tampa Bay Decision Support Toolkit. The Clear Sky team, led by the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council , developed a toolkit that provides local governments and community partners with resources for assessing the siting prioritization and feasibility of solar-plus-storage facilities for disaster resilience.

NREL's partner in delivering technical assistance, Converge Strategies, received a request from the City of Providence, Rhode Island, to implement concepts from the Clear Sky Tampa Bay Toolkit, which included a resilient solar siting checklist for city planning purposes. Converge Strategies gathered case studies and resources and presented findings to Providence leadership, and then helped the city develop a resilient solar and storage siting checklist to meet their needs.

The SEIN Rhode Island team was led by the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources. This SEIN Round 2 team developed an analytical approach to identifying alternative options for distribution system-connected photovoltaic systems in hosting capacity-constrained environments. The project used novel modeling approaches and economic analysis to simulate how these projects could manage interconnection costs and streamline interconnection timelines.

NREL researchers contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and found that the work of the Rhode Island SEIN Round 2 team aligned with PANYNJ's need to understand the impacts of increased solar deployment on their electrical network. PANYNJ were especially interested in how the SEIN team responded to challenges the team identified that addressed requirements for costly and time-consuming electricity grid upgrades.

Through collaboration with NREL researchers, PANYNJ was able to better identify its assessment needs and forecast potential stressors on its airport electricity networks to successfully interconnect their ambitious planned solar deployment.

Innovation at SCALE Lessons Learned and Best Practices

As the Innovation at SCALE effort continues to provide technical assistance from the findings of SEIN multistakeholder teams, it's important to reflect on lessons learned and continue to refine best practices and deliver beneficial technical assistance.

Some best practices we've learned so far:

Meet communities where they are in the solar deployment process. Communities may be early in their solar journey, where SEIN's Innovation at SCALE effort is one of their first conversations about solar adoption. It is important that Innovation at SCALE provides the types of assistance that are most useful to communities, even though their introductory status might limit the depth of technical assistance NREL is able to provide.

Project scope conversations may coincide with relationship-building, highlighting the importance of committing appropriate time and resources to these conversations. Some communities may have a mistrust of federal programs due to legacies of energy injustices in their communities or negative past experiences. During relationship building it is essential to engage with the community with transparency and benefit the relationship in a meaningful way.

These scoping conversations can provide context for communities to feel seen and heard early in the program. Active listening, flexibility, cultural competency, and patience are all part of NREL's role for engaging these communities in place-based technical assistance.

Stakeholder alignment around the community's priorities is crucial. As a program, SEIN highlights the effectiveness and importance of engaging multiple stakeholders to achieve local clean energy goals. In working with individual entities or organizations through Innovation at SCALE, sometimes the most effective form of technical assistance can be in helping to build and align a coalition of stakeholders.

Interested in applying SEIN insights and best practices in your community? Check out the Innovation at SCALE webpage to request technical assistance from NREL researchers and partners.

And be sure to subscribe to our mailing list for more SEIN updates.

More From Forbes

7 chatgpt prompts to improve your writing.

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On writing , author David Sedaris once said, “You need to do the best that you can do, and then you need to take the best that you can do and you need to rewrite it, and rewrite it, and rewrite it.” That’s the dynamic essence of the writing process. Writers refine their drafts, just like they continually refine their craft. I didn’t study writing or literature, so I was intimidated when I began contributing to major publications. But my confidence grew with each byline, and I began to find my voice.

While ChatGPT can be an impressive imitator, it can never generate your unique voice and perspective. It can, however, be a powerful tool for improving your writing, whether you’re penning business articles or important emails. It all starts with the right prompts.

Here are seven that you can use to level up your writing skills.

Automate Your Busywork

There are no shortcuts to becoming a better writer. The prolific author Stephen King once said, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” That said, you can use AI tools to eliminate some of the tedious tasks involved in writing and leave more time for honing your craft. Here are some prompts to delegate your writing “busywork” to ChatGPT.

1. Generating Ideas And Topics

AI shouldn’t do your writing for you. It lacks the necessary human context and isn’t immune to errors. But it can be a powerful writing partner. As Wharton professor Christian Terwiesch (who challenged ChatGPT to come up with product ideas and compared those ideas to student ideas —ChatGPT won), has said , “Everybody should be using ChatGPT to help them generate ideas.” At worst, you reject all of them. At best, you enrich your pool of ideas.

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Here is a prompt you can use to help get the idea wheels turning:

"I'm an [role/title] writing for [outlet description] targeting [target audience]. Can you suggest some fresh and engaging topics that would appeal to this audience?"

If you’d like ideas related to a certain topic or tailored to a specific style (e.g., a “hot take” versus a personal essay), remember: the more context you provide, the more concise the results.

2. Editing For Grammar And Style

Whether you’re sending an email or publishing an article on a high-traffic website, typos are an embarrassing—and avoidable—faux pas. In today’s world, where internet content exists in perpetuity, anything attached to your name should be error-free. ChatGPT can be a near-instantaneous proofreader. Test out the following prompt:

"Can you proofread this [content] for grammar, punctuation, and style consistency? The intended audience is [audience/recipient]. Please provide a list of any suggested improvements.”

3. Hitting The Right Tone

Spelling and grammar are a crucial part of editing, but they’re relatively objective. Perfecting the tone is more subjective and sometimes more challenging—but just as crucial.

The proper tone can ensure that your text is engaging. It can foster trust and understanding with colleagues and business partners. It can persuade your audience to get on board with your viewpoint. Writing that misses the mark on tone, however, can cause misunderstandings, hurt feelings, damage your credibility, and lose your reader’s interest.

With that in mind, here’s a prompt that can help you achieve the right tone in your writing:

"Can you help me rewrite this [content] for [audience], ensuring it maintains a [describe the desired tone]?

Add context to make ChatGPT’s reply more helpful. For example, if your content should show sensitivity to a certain issue or audience, add it to the prompt.

4. Adding Data And Research

One lesson I’ve learned from contributing to Forbes and other widely-read publications is that my word alone is rarely enough. I can share my personal experiences, but research and data can strengthen any piece of writing.

Instead of researching the traditional way—reviewing your writing and identifying facts that need outside sourcing, then Googling for relevant insight—ChatGPT can speed up the process, leaving you more time to polish those personal anecdotes. Try this prompt:

"I’m writing [describe the content and subject matter] for [target audience] and want to include relevant data and research. Can you review the following text and provide researched-backed statistics and insights on this topic?"

Importantly, always check the sources that ChatGPT generates. It will almost certainly come up with helpful results but they’re not always accurate—that’s where you, human editor, come into play.

Refine Your Craft

To continually improve your writing skills, you can take a page from the habits of professional writers. The following prompts can help you develop practices to become a stronger writer.

5. Daily Writing Prompts

I’ve written before about my morning pages . It’s a great way to clear my head before the day begins and to practice fluidly translating my thoughts into words on paper. If a blank page feels intimidating, writing prompts are a great way to get started. ChatGPT can generate writing prompts in an instant. You can keep it general:

“Can you suggest a couple of writing prompts that I can use to practice the craft of writing?”

Or, if you have a goal in mind, add more context. For example:

“I'm trying to improve engagement with my readers. Can you generate a couple of writing prompts to practice writing engaging content?”

6. Experiment With Different Styles And Voices

If you call your grandmother on the telephone, I’d bet your voice and speaking style sound vastly different from when you’re chatting with your best friend. Writing is the same.

ChatGPT can help you practice toggling between different styles and voices, and in doing so, help you find yours. You can ask ChatGPT for writing prompts to practice a certain style. For example:

“Can you generate three short exercises to help me practice writing in different voices and styles?”

ChatGPT will not only generate exercises, it will also break down the structure and elements of different writing styles and specify the tone.

Or, you can submit text to ChatGPT and ask it to analyze the style and voice. Try this prompt:

“Can you analyze the voice and style of the following text: [insert text].”

I used this prompt to assess the introduction to one of my recent Forbes stories, and ChatGPT said it was “Conversational and Relatable,” “Encouraging and Reassuring,” and “Informative and Practical”—encouraging feedback from my AI editor.

7. Rewrite, Rewrite, Rewrite

In A Moveable Feast , Ernest Hemingway wrote, “The only kind of writing is rewriting.”

If you want to become a writer, you have to embrace rewriting, whether you’re retyping every word or pouring over (and over) a Google Doc draft. Here are a couple of prompts you can use so that ChatGPT can assist in the rewriting process, one excerpt at a time:

“Rewrite this paragraph in the style of [Ernest Hemingway or any other author]."

“Rewrite this introduction so that it sounds like a story in [publication]”

“Rewrite this email so that it will resonate with [audience].”

“Rewrite this paragraph for clarity and concision.”

Importantly, ChatGPT only does part of the work. It falls to the writer to analyze the results, apply those lessons in future drafts, and, of course, to keep writing.

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Connect for Cancer Prevention: Update on the Cohort

June 24, 2024 , by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.

The Connect for Cancer Prevention Study is a new prospective cohort seeking to enroll 200,000 adults in the United States. Connect is designed to further investigate the etiology of cancer and its outcomes, which may inform new approaches in precision prevention and early detection. We intend to update the research community as to the progress of Connect across multiple topics of interest.

Participant Recruitment 

Enrollment has reached more than 40,000 participants across the nine sites that are recruiting at present. Last month, our newest partner, the Baylor Scott & White integrated healthcare system, began recruitment in Texas. We are excited to expand the demographic and geographic diversity of the catchment population of Connect. To support recruiting a diverse population, we now offer the  MyConnect dashboard and key study materials, in Spanish. 

Participant Retention 

As Connect continues to grow, we are deeply committed to participant retention. Participants receive by email quarterly newsletters with study updates and spotlights of team members or participants and one year cohort anniversary cards, and birthday cards by mail. Earlier this year, we released the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) survey three months after enrollment. We continue to evaluate the effectiveness of digital reminders through email and SMS. Early data suggest participants who complete all baseline activities will complete the subsequent study activities. 

Factoid on sleep from the participant newsletter

An additional retention tool we are implementing is the return of information. The first such effort was a summary of cohort sleep data collected to-date. 

Biospecimen Collection 

As one of the first activities involving Connect biospecimens, genotyping of germline DNA extracted from white blood cells is planned to begin in early 2025 and continue in real-time with the remainder of recruitment. Most recently, the team evaluated various array options before landing on the Illumina Global Diversity Array (GDA) + Polygenic Risk Score (PRS) booster. The array was chosen for its comprehensive coverage of >2 million markers across diverse populations. Additionally, the booster content covers >160k important variants for PRS estimations. The extensive variant inclusion on the GDA beadchip will significantly contribute to advancing our understanding of genetic diversity and its implications in cancer risk and progression.   

Planning for Microbiome Studies

Infectious agents, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi, far outnumber human cells in the body and contribute to crucial physiologic commensal functions as well as pathogenic activities. While there is much interest in the potential for the microbiome to aid in cancer prevention, or adjust the microbiome in the course of clinical management, the particulars of its involvement in cancer risk and progression are not well understood. To address the need for studies in population-representative cohorts, the baseline biospecimen collection for Connect includes a mouthwash sample. Mouthwash samples were either collected at partnering health care system or at home with a mailed collection kit. In April, Connect received the first home-collected samples and surveys from participants. This effort will pave the way for other at-home collections, including stool samples. 

Connect in the Research Community 

Dr. Mia Gaudet, Ms. Jazmyn Bess, and Dr. Nicolas Wentzensen with Connect Study collaborator Dr. David Wong from UCLA

In April, several members of the study team attended the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting.  

Mia M. Gaudet, Ph.D., senior scientist, organized and chaired, “Existing and Emerging Cohort Study Resources for Future Discoveries,” a workshop on the Future of Cohorts in the education program of the meeting. The session reviewed existing and emerging cohort data resources for discoveries in cancer etiology, early detection, survival, and survivorship. 

Nicolas Wentzensen, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.,  Deputy Director in the Clinical Genetics Branch, and principal investigator for Connect, offered an overview of the study at the AACR Population Sciences Working Group. Dr. Gaudet also presented at ‘Meet the Experts’ sessions at the NCI booth. Jazmyn L. Bess, B.S., presented a poster describing her work on the Connect liquid biopsy pilot study, including an investigation of pre-analytical collection and processing factors that might affect the quantity and quality of cell-free DNA and RNA, a unique resource collected at baseline for future evaluation of liquid biopsy tests.  

More details, including participating sites, enrollment criteria and questionnaires, can be found on  the Connect Wiki.  

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Introduction

Keeping benefits packages competitive.

The SHRM Employee Benefits Survey returns with new insights for 2024, headlined by modern additions and updated definitions across a wide berth of potential benefits offerings. Evolving upon nearly 30 years of employee benefits research, this comprehensive annual survey of HR professionals captures the prevalence across the spectrum of various employee benefits and perks provided by organizations.

A competitive job market comes with a need for organizations to provide equally competitive benefits offerings. As organizations face labor shortages, those who adapt their total compensation and benefits packages with creative and modern offerings put themselves in better positions to attract and retain talent. The goal of the SHRM Employee Benefits Survey is to gain an accurate representation of benefits offerings throughout the United States. SHRM members can use the findings to discover and benchmark the benefits changes organizations have implemented. With the inclusion of even more items in 2024—as well as new research diving into the average vacation, sick, and PTO days granted by employers—SHRM hopes to provide an even more comprehensive picture of the employee benefits landscape than ever before.

See How Your Benefits Stack Up

To help you compare your organization’s benefits against those surveyed, we’ve provided an online, interactive benchmarking tool. The power is in your hands to explore results for the last five year and to filter results according to your organization’s industry, size and location.  Do you work in health care in California? Results are available specifically for an organization like yours. What about a medium-sized trucking company in the South? Yep, results are available for that as well.*

This tool not only equips you to see the overall results of the SHRM Employee Benefits Survey, but also allows you to call up custom-filtered results any time you need them. You can also export the results for later reference.

We’re excited to share these results and equip you with the information to help you build better workplaces. Select any of the benefits categories on the navigation bar to get started.

*For confidentiality purposes, a minimum of five responses is required to show filtered results. For filters resulting in 5-19 responses, results will display with an asterisk to denote a low response count.

License Agreement

By using the employee benefits survey results interactive online tool you agree to our license agreement. click to see full details..

LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THE SHRM EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SURVEY RESULTS INTERACTIVE ONLINE TOOL, SURVEY RESULTS AND REPORT

By opening and using the SHRM Employee Benefits Survey Results interactive online tool (the "Interactive Online Tool"), the Benefits Survey Results (the “Results”), and generating a Report (the “Report”) (and together the “Results and Report”), you (“User”) hereby agree as follows:

(i) That the Society for Human Resource Management is the exclusive provider and owner of the Interactive Online Tool and exclusive copyright owner of the Results and Report.

(ii) User has the right, by this License, to use the Interactive Online Tool and Results and Report solely for the internal purposes of their employer (“Company”) or for the internal purposes of a single client of Company (“Single Client”), and to make or distribute copies of the Results and Report to other employees within the Company or to employees within the Single Client, provided that such other Company employees or Single Client employees may only use the Results and Report for the internal purposes of the Company or Single Client. The Results and Report may not be shared to external third parties by any Company employees, Single Client employees or User. Except as allowed above with respect to use by employees of Company for the internal purposes of Company or employees of Single Client for the internal purposes of Single Client, User, Company and Single Client are strictly prohibited from printing, making or distributing any copies of the Results and Report in any type of media.

(iii) All materials, reports, data, records, including all export files and reports generated from the Interactive Online Tool, regardless of format (e.g., PDF, CSV), and any other intellectual property created or compiled by SHRM for the Results or in generating the Report, contained in the Results and Report and all copies thereof, collectively the “SHRM Intellectual Property”, shall be the sole property of SHRM.  

(iv) Neither User, Company nor Single Client has any right to sell or sublicense, loan or otherwise convey or distribute the Interactive Online Tool, the Results or the Report or any copies thereof in any media to any third parties outside of the Company or Single Client.

© 2024 Society for Human Resource Management. All rights reserved.

SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 340,000 members in 180 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally. Discover more at SHRM.org.

This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Society for Human Resource Management, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, USA.

This report is published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). SHRM cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions or any liability resulting from the use or misuse of any such information.

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