SynthesisBMC public health2017
Narratives of community engagement: a systematic review-derived conceptual framework for public health interventions.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Measurement and evaluation of community engagement in complex, chronic medical conditions: HIV and obesity as exemplar conditions.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Community Engagement in Vaccination Promotion: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- How and why do women's groups (WGs) improve the quality of maternal and child health (MCH) care? A systematic review of the literature.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Exploring the theory, barriers and enablers for patient and public involvement across health, social care and patient safety: a systematic review of reviews.Health research policy and systems · 2021Pooled it
- Whose knowledge counts? Involving communities in intervention and trial design using community conversations.Trials · 2023Trial
- Communities in charge of alcohol (CICA): a protocol for a stepped-wedge randomised control trial of an alcohol health champions programme.BMC public health · 2018Trial
- Interventions to Improve Depressive Symptoms in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Scoping Review.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2026Article
- Using an asset mapping approach to evaluate the reach of community-level health equity interventions.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Mobilizing community assets to address health equity: Evaluation of the Communities Organizing to Promote Equity (COPE) project in Kansas.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- Medical gases and long-term oxygen therapy: reducing the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease burden in aging populations in Sub-Saharan Africa.Medical gas research · 2026Review
- Health-oriented participatory leadership in European nursing homes: a qualitative cross-country study of support for employees and teams.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- [Working across sectors and with citizens to create a healthy living environment: what works, why, and in what context].TSG : tijdschrift voor gezondheidswetenschappen · 2026Article
- Utilization of community engagement in social innovation health projects in low-and-middle income countries: A global sequential mixed methods analysis.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Multi-level community dissemination of public health research: insights from the fuel to pot project case study in Kenya and Malawi.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Applying Community Engagement Methods to Facilitate Global Co‑Learning among Indigenous Communities.Annals of global health · 2026Article
- Establishing a nurturing micro-sleep environment may positively influence children's overall development.Sleep medicine: X · 2025Article
- Delivering sleep: Bed kit distributions to children living in poverty in Tanzania.Sleep medicine: X · 2025Article
- "What I do not see and others see in me": mutual aid for suicide recovery in Colombia.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2025Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundGovernment policy increasingly supports engaging communities to promote health. It is critical to consider whether such strategies are effective, for whom, and under what circumstances. However, 'community engagement' is defined in diverse ways and employed for different reasons. Considering the theory and context we developed a conceptual framework which informs understanding about what makes an effective (or ineffective) community engagement intervention.
methodsWe conducted a systematic review of community engagement in public health interventions using: stakeholder involvement; searching, screening, appraisal and coding of research literature; and iterative thematic syntheses and meta-analysis. A conceptual framework of community engagement was refined, following interactions between the framework and each review stage.
resultsFrom 335 included reports, three products emerged: (1) two strong theoretical 'meta-narratives': one, concerning the theory and practice of empowerment/engagement as an independent objective; and a more utilitarian perspective optimally configuring health services to achieve defined outcomes. These informed (2) models that were operationalized in subsequent meta-analysis. Both refined (3) the final conceptual framework. This identified multiple dimensions by which community engagement interventions may differ. Diverse combinations of intervention purpose, theory and implementation were noted, including: ways of defining communities and health needs; initial motivations for community engagement; types of participation; conditions and actions necessary for engagement; and potential issues influencing impact. Some dimensions consistently co-occurred, leading to three overarching models of effective engagement which either: utilised peer-led delivery; employed varying degrees of collaboration between communities and health services; or built on empowerment philosophies.
conclusionsOur conceptual framework and models are useful tools for considering appropriate and effective approaches to community engagement. These should be tested and adapted to facilitate intervention design and evaluation. Using this framework may disentangle the relative effectiveness of different models of community engagement, promoting effective, sustainable and appropriate initiatives.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.