Community engagement 101: An online curriculum for future health professionals

To promote healthy communities, health care professionals need to engage diverse communities in developing solutions to public health problems and addressing disparities. Community engagement, the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their larger communities for exchange of knowledge and resources, can be one strategy to achieve a more equitable health landscape. However, there are few curricula being offered to an interprofessional audience of health professions students to enhance their skills for effective community engagement. At the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), an interdisciplinary team including faculty and students from the schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy, along with university staff and community partners is developing an online, interactive, media-rich curricula that teaches principles and competencies of community engagement. The main objective is to provide an accessible resource for all UCSF learners and community partners to gain basic knowledge and awareness. Focus groups were conducted with key community members and UCSF learners to select the five module topics: Introduction to Community Engagement, Community Assessment, Introduction to SF's Diverse Communities, Health Communication/Literacy and Partnering with UCSF (for community partners). The advantages of online modules include convenient access to curriculum, especially given limited time for interprofessional training; interactive learning; savings in terms of faculty time; and a revisable platform. Health professions universities can incorporate this model curriculum into the education of every student. Academic preparation will build the capacity of future health professionals to apply community engagement principles in partnership efforts to address community needs and eliminate health disparities.