Community engagement is about fitting the Health TAPESTRY approach to the local community. Community engagement involves purposeful connection with key stakeholders, users, and anyone directly impacted by a program or project. This process has two pieces:
- Learning about the needs of the community by drawing on the knowledge and experiences of community members and organizations.
- Forming partnerships with other organizations in the community helps ensure that the Health TAPESTRY approach is sustainable and can grow in the community.
Health TAPESTRY projects have partnered with universities, family health teams, volunteer organizations, technology businesses, public health departments, hospitals, and social service organizations.
Volunteers play an important role in community engagement in Health TAPESTRY. Community members are provided with opportunities to volunteer in their community, and through Health TAPESTRY, volunteers increase awareness and support stronger links to community resources.
Research Findings
Community volunteers and primary care providers supporting older adults in system navigation: A mixed methods study
Why did we do the study? System navigation is commonly used in primary care to help connect patients to more services and other health care settings with an overall goal of improving patient care. Within Health TAPESTRY, there are opportunities for both the primary care team and trained community volunteers…