Community Engagement for Quality People-Centred Health Services
Contributors:
Contributors:
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic severely tested the relationship between governments and people. Response measures that aimed to reduce exposure and prevent transmission of the virus saw spikes in mental health concerns and social upheaval on a wide and deep scale. The pandemic also revealed significant inequities and health service delivery gaps in national and global systems. These weaknesses have resulted in a health care crisis with calls to radically address health system failures. Community engagement has resurfaced in global public health as a critical component in recovery efforts, both to achieve universal health coverage (UHC) and to effectively reach vulnerable populations such as Indigenous Peoples. Yet, there remains ambiguity and a lack of consensus on definitions and scope, with significant gaps in evidence. In addition, advances in scientific understanding posits that the concept of “community” must be broadened to capture the continuum of connection between attachment in early childhood and ongoing processes of social interaction during adolescence and throughout adulthood. Doing so recognizes that human beings are born, raised, live, play, work and die in multiple, interconnected communities that continuously shape identity, choices, and behaviors. Community engagement offers an assets-based approach centered on a well-being model that links lived experience and the dynamics of individual, family, community, neighborhood, workplace, and organizational health. This report will explore the recommendations for adopting community engagement within the practice of medicine, including the design, delivery and integration of health services and the orientation of health care systems.