Community organizations’ perspectives on the impact of a nursing student-led academic-community partnership program

Abstract

Academic-community partnerships can have a direct positive impact on community partners and university students. Community Champions, a student-led program, promotes local outreach and engagement with a variety of community initiatives. The purpose of this study was to assess community partners’ perceptions of the Community Champions program to better support the goals of the community and to complement prior research evaluating the impact of the Community Champions program on university students. The study used a 27-item survey, consisting of 20 Likert-scale items and seven open-ended questions. Eighteen community partners were invited via email to complete the online survey. Quantitative responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative responses were reviewed for themes to generate future recommendations. Fourteen of the eighteen community organizations responded to the survey (78% response rate). Assessment of community partners’ perspectives were synthesized across four themes: motivations, benefits, challenges, and general satisfaction. Community partners indicated that sharing labor and resources to enhance community health goals were key factors in creating mutually beneficial partnerships. Building effective academic-community partnerships is essential to increasing student engagement, while also addressing priorities of community organizations. Academic student programs that engage the community can positively impact both the community partners and university students.