CPH 636 Community Engagement

This course explores community engagement as a core public health practice, with a focus on building sustainable relationships through collaboration, cultural humility, and trust. Students examine research and real-world approaches to community engagement, paying particular attention to power dynamics and the role of communities as co-equal partners in research and practice. The course emphasizes long-term commitment, shared learning among all partners, and hands-on activities that support collective visioning. Topics include community-based participatory research, community theory, development strategies, innovative problem-solving and interventions, group development techniques, multiple data collection methods, and approaches to assessing community capacity.