Community engagement by faculties of medicine: A scoping review of current practices and practical recommendations

Abstract

Purpose

Social accountability (SA) is the responsibility of faculties of medicine (FoMs) to address the health priorities of the communities they serve. Community engagement (CE) is a vital, but often ambiguous, component of SA. Practical guidance on how to engage community partners (CPs) is key for meaningful CE. We conducted a systematic scoping review of CE involving FoMs to map out how FoMs engage their communities, to provide practical recommendations for FoMs to take part in CE, and to highlight gaps in the literature.

Materials and methods

We searched electronic databases for articles describing projects or programs involving FoMs and CPs. Descriptive information was analyzed thematically.

Results

Thirty-eight of 1406 articles were included, revealing three themes: (1) Partners (Who to Engage)—deciding who to engage establishes the basis for responsibility and creates space for communities to engage FoMs; (2) Partnerships (How to Engage)—fostering creative and authentic collaboration, enabling meaningful community contributions; and (3) Projects and Programs (With What to Engage)—identifying opportunities for communities to have a voice in many spaces within FoMs. Under these themes emerged 32 practical recommendations.

Conclusion

Practical guidance facilitates meaningful commitments to communities. The literature is rich with examples of community-FoM partnerships. We provide recommendations for CE that are clear, evidence-based, and responsive.

Keywords:

• Community engagement
• faculties of medicine
• medical schools
• social accountability
• scoping review

Acknowledgements

We thank Michelle Swab for her guidance in developing the literature search; Rochelle Baker for helping align our preliminary data synthesis with her empirical work in CE; the Social Accountability Project Team at Memorial University’s Faculty of Medicine, for critical feedback throughout the data synthesis process; Dr. Jeffrey Patterson for assistance with data extraction and formulation of preliminary themes; and Dr. Amanda Hall for revisions to the study protocol.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Glossary

Social accountability: The obligation [of medical schools] to direct their education, research and service activities towards addressing the priority health concerns of the community, region, and/or nation they have the mandate to serve (Boelen and Heck 1995).

Community engagement: The process of working collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest, or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of those people. It is a powerful vehicle for bringing about environmental and behavioural changes that will improve the health of the community and its members. It often involves partnerships and coalitions that help mobilize resources and influence systems, change relationships among partners, and serve as catalysts for changing policies, programs, and practices (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1997).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hannah Boone

Hannah Boone, BMus, Senior Medical Student, Doctor of Medicine program, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Nicholas Jacob Snow

Nicholas Jacob Snow, MD, MSc, BKin, PGY1 Resident Physician, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Jill Allison

Jill Allison, PhD, Global Health Coordinator, Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Carolyn Sturge Sparkes

Carolyn Sturge Sparkes, PhD, MEd, BMus, Coordinator, Indigenous Health Initiative, Clinical Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Russell Dawe

Russell Dawe, MD, MDiv, CCFP, Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Family Medicine Residency Training Program, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland.