Culturally informed community engagement: Implications for inclusive science and health equity

Abstract

Public health efforts seeking to reduce disparities and promote equity must be inclusive to reach their full potential. Interventions, programs, and initiatives designed to promote health equity among Communities of Color must be culturally informed. Communities and the cultural values and practices that shape them are closely intertwined, creating opportunities for a more intentional approach to community engagement. Yosso’s framework of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) emphasizes six forms of capital that People and Communities of Color use to thrive and succeed: social, navigational, linguistic, familial, resistant, and aspirational. We anchor our approach—culturally informed community engagement—in the core tenets of CCW. This paper discusses CCW and its applicability and utility for facilitating culturally informed community engagement in health research. In our approach, asset-based frameworks intersect with community engagement, CCW,
and principles of health equity. We discuss how applying CCW to conducting community-engaged research promotes health equity, inclusive science, and authentic relationships with community partners. Lastly, we provide applied examples of community-engaged interventions that leverage cultural assets in Communities of Color to reduce disparities and promote health equity.