Assignment: Concepts and Principles of Community Engagement Essay

Compare and contrast the key concepts and principles of community engagement, community organizing, and community building. In what ways are these models similar and different from one another? Provide an example of the application of a community model to health behavior from the research literature. Is there another model or theory that could also be appropriate for the health behavior described in your example? Why or why not?

Please respond with 250 to 300 words. One reference required.

One of the more useful of the hundreds of definitions of culture is this one from the anthropologist Christie Kiefer (2007): “a complex integrated system of thought and behavior shared by members of a group — a system whose whole pattern allows us to understand the meanings that people attach to specific facts and observations.” Culture shapes identities and fosters notions of community, and it shapes how individuals and groups relate to each other, how meaning is created, and how power is defined. Furthermore, culture shapes ideas about partnership, trust, and negotiation. Therefore, culture shapes the process of community engagement, and effective engagement requires an understanding of culture (Blumenthal et al., 2004; Dévieux et al., 2005; Silka et al., 2008).

In particular, researchers and practitioners need to understand the cultural dynamics of specific groups and institutions in order to build relationships, identify ways to effectively collaborate, and build respect and trust. This is an ongoing effort for all involved in the community engagement process (Harrell et al., 2006; Minkler et al., 2004; Shoultz et al., 2006; Sullivan et al., 2001). Communities are not homogeneous entities; they are made up of diverse groups with different histories, social structures, value systems, and cultural understandings of the world.

There is no question that culture and health are intimately connected. Indeed, culture influences perceptions of illness and suffering, methods of disease prevention, treatments for illness, and use of health services. Both medical and public health literature recognize the connection between health and culture (Airhihenbuwa, 2007; Fisher et al., 2007; Krumeich et al., 2001; Resnicow et al., 1999), but the solution to bridging cultural boundaries is often presented as acquiring “cultural competency,” or having knowledge of a group’s cultural differences and typical behaviors or beliefs. This is inadequate, however. As anthropologists have demonstrated, culture is dynamic and complex, and cultural competence is more than identifying how a group is thought to differ from prevailing standards or norms of behavior and belief (Carpenter-Song et al., 2007). Focusing on the meanings that individuals share and on the explanatory models they use to discuss their health problems provides a richer understanding of these individuals and can yield a cultural understanding that is rooted in their real lives rather than in stereotypes. This meaning-centered approach can also help reveal how community conditions are determined by social, economic, and political forces rather than simply by individual choices (Carpenter-song et al., 2007; Kleinman et al., 2006; Kumagai et al., 2009; Silka et al., 2008).

To achieve successful collaboration with a community, all parties involved need to strive to understand the point of view of “insiders,” whether they are members of a neighborhood, religious institution, health practice, community organization, or public health agency. Key to developing such understanding is recognizing one’s own culture and how it shapes one’s beliefs and understanding of health and illness (Airhihenbuwa, 2007; Hahn, 1999; Harrell et al., 2006; Kleinman, 1980; Minkler, 2004). For example, community-engaged programs and research often involve people from universities or health institutions working with community groups in areas labeled “low income” or “at risk.” Acknowledging diversity in background, experience, culture, income, and education and examining how society produces privilege, racism, and inequalities in power should be central to the process of community engagement. Such an approach can help partners better understand and address the roots of health issues and guard against reproducing repressive patterns within their partnerships (Chávez et al., 2008; Chavez et al., 2007; Jones et al., 2000; Krieger et al., 1999; Yonas et al., 2006).

Done well, the community-engaged approach can enable partnerships to develop programs and research “in ways that are consistent with a people’s and a community’s cultural framework” (Airhihenbuwa, 1995). When researchers and organizers work collaboratively with community organizations throughout a project, they can produce effective, culturally appropriate programs and robust research results.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource