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While public libraries are well-established as a place to borrow books and use reference materials, they are less recognized for the services and programs they offer to their local communities. These programs and services often directly or indirectly impact the health of patrons and the larger community.

While some public libraries offer programs that address patron health in collaboration with other health professionals, such as those at local universities, public health departments, and other health-related organizations, these collaborations are often informal, offered for an indefinite period of time, and rely on finite funding. While public health professionals and organizations are often overlooked in public library collaborations, they are a natural fit for collaboration.

As public libraries serve the needs of vital and often vulnerable members of our communities, it is important to build sustainable community partnerships when offering programs and services that impact patron health. This will not only identify organizations committed to improving the health of these populations and those that provide reliable resources; it will also streamline information and provide consistent information to identify safe and reliable resources on social media, the internet, and in the community.

This chapter serves as a reflective narrative which explores how public libraries and community organizations can collaborate, identifies anticipated challenges, and describes considerations and strategies for addressing these challenges. The ultimate goal is to identify how libraries can expand the depth and breadth of both library services and public health organizations to sustainably improve the health of the local community.

To assess which partnerships were most critical during the recovery planning process following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. We discuss the roles and impact of different types of partners, barriers and facilitators to partnerships and lessons in collaboration during the development of the economic and disaster recovery plan for Puerto Rico.

The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) was tasked with assisting the Puerto Rican government with an assessment of damages from Hurricanes Maria and Irma and the development of the Recovery Plan. During the process, a small team compiled and coded a database of meetings with non-HSOAC partners. The team was divided into sector teams that mirrored FEMA’s Recovery Support Functions. Each sector completed two surveys identifying high impact partners and their roles and contributions, as well as barriers and facilitators to partnerships.

A total of 1,382 engagements were recorded across all sectors over seven months. The most frequently identified high impact partners were federal and Puerto Rican governmental organizations partners. NGOs and nonprofits were noted as key partners in obtaining community perspective. Sector teams cited a lack of trust and difficulty identifying partners as barriers to partner engagement. Given the expedited nature of disaster response, establishing partnerships before disasters occur may help facilitate community input. Early networking, increased transparency and defining roles and responsibilities may increase trust and effectiveness among partnerships.

To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that quantifies and illustrates the partnerships formed and their contributions during recovery planning, and lessons learned.

This chapter presents a preliminary model that frames public library workers as the foundations of how public libraries help build and support sustainable communities in the twenty-first century, particularly in the United States, specifically in rural America. For public libraries to continue to be key partners in sustaining their communities, and in supporting the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is essential that public library work be valued, visible, and sustained over time. The UN defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Four studies of public library work during the COVID-19 pandemic found that public library workers are facing challenges in both meeting their own needs and meeting the needs of their communities. That finding led to a consideration of what is needed to place public library work at the center of sustainable thinking. Sustaining library workers will strengthen the library as a community hub, and help those workers in turn sustain community relationships necessary for the work of the library. These, in turn, will contribute to more sustainable communities.

This study aims to understand the utility of personas and illustrate, through a case study, how a persona-building exercise in a Community Based Prevention Marketing (CBPM) training of community leaders elicited important insights that complemented findings from ongoing formative research on vaccine hesitancy in the Hispanic/Latino population in the USA during COVID-19 pandemic.

An exploratory concurrent parallel qualitative study design compared three personas created by community-based organization members (n = 37) to transcripts from five formative research focus groups (n = 30) from the same project. All participants in this study were recruited by the National COVID-19 Resiliency Network as part of their capacity-building and formative research activities. Grounded theory guided the content analysis.

This study found personas and focus groups to be complementary. A high degree of co-occurrence was observed when investigating the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine under the categories of barriers, culture and communication. Between the two methods, the authors found strong associations between fear, disruption to the value system, work-related barriers, inaccessibility to health care and information sources and misinformation. Areas of divergence were negligible.

While personas provided background information about the population and sharing “how” to reach the priority population, focus groups provided the “why” behind the behavior, followed by “how”.

A community-driven persona-building process built on cultural community knowledge and existing data can build community capacity, provide rich information to assist in the creation of tailored messages, strategies and overall interventions during a public health crisis and provide user-centered, evidence-based information about a priority population while researchers and practitioners wait on the results from formative research.

This case study provided a unique opportunity to analyze the complementary effectiveness of two methods acting in tandem to understand the priority population: stakeholder-informed persona-building and participant-informed focus group interviews. Understanding their complementary nature addresses a time gap that often exists between researchers and practitioners during times of crises and builds on recommendations associated with bringing rigor into practice, promoting academic contribution to real-world issues and building collaborative partnerships. Finally, it supports the utility of a nimble tool that improves social marketers’ ability to know more about their audience for intervention design when time is of the essence and formative research is ongoing.

Combining the goal-setting and job demands-resources (JD-R) theories, we examine how two project resources, collaborative project leadership and financial project resources, enhance high project performance in community-academic health partnerships.

With a sequential explanatory mixed-method research design, data were collected through a survey (N = 318) and semi-structured interviews (N = 21). A hypothesised three-path mediation model was tested using structural equation modelling with bootstrapping. Qualitative data were examined using thematic analysis.

Project workers’ hope, goal-commitment and -stress: (1) fully mediate the hypothesised relationship between highly collaborative project leadership and high project performance; and (2) partially mediate the relationship between financial project resources and high project performance. The qualitative data corroborate and deepen these findings, revealing the crucial role of hope as a cognitive-motivational facilitator in project workers’ ability to cope with challenges.

Project leaders should promote project workers’ goal commitment, reduce their goal stress and boost project performance by securing financial project resources or reinforcing workers’ hope, e.g. by fostering collaborative project leadership.

The findings contribute to the project management and JD-R literature by considering the joint effects of project workers’ hope and two commonly studied project resources (collaborative project leadership and financial project resources) on high project performance. Moreover, we demonstrate the importance of the goal-setting and JD-R theories for understanding complex health-promotion projects connecting academic to community work.

This paper aims to provide an example of patient-led co-production.

Using the six principles of co-production to frame the activities undertaken during the author’s relationship with a community mental health nurse.

The paper describes the benefit of a collaborative support group for the three lived experienced participants and a mental health nurse.

Small support groups like the one described in this paper can be established effectively through the process of co-production between people with lived experience and mental health professionals working in partnership.

Co-production is usually used with groups of stakeholders working together in an equitable way to design or deliver a new service; this paper, however, seeks to demonstrate how the process can be effectively used when the project is patient-led within the context of a therapeutic relationship.

The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted Latinos across the United States though data on emerging immigrant communities is lacking. The purpose of this study is to better understand how Latino immigrants were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing a community health clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina to quickly respond to their needs.

A mixed method, rapid appraisal using community-based participatory research approaches conducted in February to April 2021 by a team of bilingual researchers. Project consisted of a Spanish, electronic survey distributed through community leaders and in-person interviews conducted in Spanish at COVID-19 vaccine clinics. SPSS Version 26 was used for quantitative analysis. Ordinal and binary logistic regression tests were performed to assess the associations among several outcome and four predictor variables: documentation status, status of health insurance, level of trust in the vaccine and place of birth. Qualitative analysis used rapid appraisal and grounded theory approaches.

Latino immigrants experienced job and income loss, resulting in difficulty paying for food, housing and health care. Participants experienced emotional and financial stress and isolation from family. Undocumented immigrants were more likely to experience detrimental impacts than documented immigrants. Most wanted the vaccine but felt barriers like trust and insurance may prevent them.

Findings from this study are locally relevant to Latino immigrants living in the Charlotte area of North Carolina and findings may not be generalizable to other Latinos. Participants were recruited through faith networks and those who are not connected may not be represented. In addition, interview participants were sampled during vaccination clinics and likely had positive views of the vaccine.

As a direct result of this project, community health clinic (CHC) held vaccination clinics to instill more confidence in the vaccination process. Spanish-speaking staff were available to assist with paperwork and answer questions onsite. The importance of familismo in decision-making and the reported presence of misinformation about the vaccine prompted CHC to continue providing accurate information about the vaccine in Spanish, and to strategize marketing materials to reflect a family-centric approach to better appeal to Latinos. Findings were used to obtain funding for expansion of clinical and behavioral health services in the community through mobile units, increasing accessibility for Latino immigrants.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this was the first study to examine the effects of the pandemic on a growing and disproportionately underrepresented group in an emerging immigrant state. Findings informed culturally competent COVID-19 vaccine clinics, marketing strategies and the expansion of medical and behavioral health services for a local community clinic.

Inter-organisational collaboration (IOC) across healthcare settings has been put forward as a solution to mounting financial and sustainability challenges. Whilst ingredients for successful IOC have been explored, there remains limited understanding of the development of IOCs over time.

The authors systematically reviewed the literature to identify models applied to IOCs in healthcare across databases such as Healthcare Management Information Consortium (HMIC) and MEDLINE, identifying 2,763 titles and abstracts with 26 final papers included. The authors then used a “best fit” framework synthesis methodology to synthesise fourteen models of IOC in healthcare and the wider public sector to formulate an applied composite model describing the process through which collaborations change over time. This synthesis comprised extracting stages and behaviours from included models, selecting an a priori framework upon which to code these stages and behaviours and then re-coding them to construct a new composite model.

Existing models often did not consider that organisations may undergo many IOCs in the organisations' lifetime nor included “contemplation” stages or those analogous to “dissolution”, which might negatively impact papers using such models. The formulated' composite model utilises a life-cycle design comprising five non-linear phases, namely Contemplating, Connecting, Planning, Implementation and Maintenance or Dissolution and incorporates dynamic elements from Complex Adaptive Systems thinking to reflect the dynamic nature of collaborations.

This is the first purpose-built model of the lifecycles of IOCs in healthcare. The model is intended to inform implementers, evaluators and researchers of IOCs alike.

In this paper we (a pracademic, a practitioner, and an academic) aim to explore the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. We also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area. Insights from prior research, coupled with the co-authors’ experience and observations, indicate that a disconnect does exist between academia and practice within social marketing, though it is admittedly and unsurprisingly not uniform across contexts and disciplinary areas. Given social marketing’s identity as a practice-oriented field, there are many existing examples of academic/practitioner collaboration and the successful linkage of theory and practice that deserve to be amplified. However, the challenges associated with the very different systems and structures affecting both worlds mean the disconnect is problematic enough to warrant systematic change to ensure the two worlds are more aligned.

This paper (a pracademic, a practitioner and an academic) explores the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing and offer recommendations to close it, while amplifying existing examples of best practice from within the field. The authors also propose a research agenda to spur dialog and guide further investigations in this area.

The authors suggest five key reasons that focus should be placed upon closing the academic/practitioner gap in social marketing: demonstrating societal value by contributing to practice; embedding and developing theories in practice; adding to the social marketing literature; contributing to social marketing teaching; and communicating the value and effectiveness of social marketing. To close the gap, the authors propose specific recommendations within four broad areas: marketing the academia and practitioner collaboration offer; building ongoing relationships; creating collaborative partnerships; and changing the publishing model ensuring communications are accessible to all. They also suggest ways for social marketing associations and peak bodies to play a role.

The concept of a disconnect between academia and practice is by no means new; it has been a pervasive issue across disciplines for decades. However, this issue has not been the subject of much discussion within the social marketing literature. Recommendations outlined in this paper serve as a starting point for discussion. The authors also acknowledge that due to long standing “bright spots” in the field, numerous examples currently exist. They place an emphasis upon highlighting these examples while illuminating a path forward.

The research questions probe into the heart of participatory learning’s scholarly landscape. They inquire about historical trends, shifts in research interest, and regional contributions, highlighting the global reach of participatory learning discourse. The study also reaches into the most cited papers, emphasizing their pivotal role in shaping the field’s trajectory.

The research design of our study involves a retrospective analysis focused on the topic of participatory learning in education. A retrospective analysis is a methodological approach that entails examining existing literature, data, and publications within a specific field to identify trends, patterns, and insights over a defined period. In the context of participatory learning in education, this research design allows us to gain a comprehensive understanding of the evolution, contributions, and emerging directions within this pedagogical approach.

The culmination of this study lies in formulating 75 thought-provoking future research questions. These questions are designed to guide the future trajectory of participatory learning research, addressing existing gaps and propelling the field toward new horizons. The findings of the study contribute to a panoramic view of participatory learning’s evolution, global impact, and potential for reshaping education. It is a compass for researchers, educators, and policymakers navigating the intricate landscape of participatory learning in education.

Themes and topics are thoroughly explored, unrevealed the multidimensional nature of participatory learning research. The investigation spans time, revealing enduring themes while unveiling emerging areas of inquiry that capture the attention of researchers and practitioners. Current trends and focus areas are scrutinized, offering insights into the ever-evolving scholarly pursuits within participatory learning.

This comprehensive study investigates the evolution and impact of research on participatory learning in education from 1995 to 2023. The research objectives encompass a broad spectrum, including trend analysis, geographical distribution assessment and identification of influential papers, thematic exploration, and the formulation of future research questions. Through a meticulous examination of published literature, this study aims to shed light on the development of participatory learning as a transformative educational approach.

This study’s originality lies in its comprehensive analysis of participatory learning in education from 1995 to 2023, revealing temporal trends, global contributions, influential papers, thematic nuances, and emerging trends. By amalgamating these dimensions, it offers a holistic view of participatory learning’s evolution, impact, and future directions, enriching the understanding of this transformative educational approach and guiding further research and practice.