*Assessing Meaningful Community Engagement: A Conceptual Model to Advance Health Equity through Transformed Systems for Health. A National Academy of Medicine / Commentary. (nam.edu/Perspectives
<http://nam.edu/Perspectives>) **https://doi.org/10.31478/202202c
<https://doi.org/10.31478/202202c> *
*(Feb 14, 2022) *
The National Academy of Medicine in the US published today its Perspectives Series report on *Assessment of Community Engagement* (ACE).
So, what exactly is Community Engagement? The NAM Perspective maintains that CE provides the foundation to advance health equity through transformed systems for health and is an “active relationship that is necessary to ensuring that health and health care policies are tailored to those they impact.”
Similar to the themes of Voice, Agency and Empowerment in WHO handbook on *Social Participation* (May 2021), the ACE conceptual model centers *community engagement* in all activities and identifies four measurable areas of impact- Strengthened partnerships and alliances, Expanded knowledge, Improved health and health care programs and policies and Thriving communities.
As a community member and an Equity Policy Analyst, I wanted to share with everyone the report’s universal insight, “The fundamental question is not whether entities think they are engaging communities, but whether communities feel engaged.”
Esha Ray Chaudhuri
Calgary, Canada
HIFA profile: Esha Ray Chaudhuri is an Equity Analyst, in Canada. Professional interests: Equity Issues in Health and Health Care with particular focus on interface of Local and Global contexts. She is a member of the WHO-HIFA Catalyst Group on Learning for quality health services. https://www.hifa.org/projects/learning-quality-health-services Email address: ed.consult3 AT gmail.com
