Roadmap for Health Equity: Understanding the Importance of Community-Engaged Research

Abstract

Achieving health equity in stroke prevention, treatment, and recovery has continued to be a significant challenge. This article highlights the significance of health equity and the role of community-engaged research in addressing stroke disparities, including concepts around health equity as the fair and just opportunity for everyone to attain their highest level of health and well-being. Social determinants impact stroke incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality, which emphasizes the importance of intersectionality and social risk-informed care. A comprehensive roadmap for achieving health equity in stroke through the integration of community-engaged research is presented, including the necessity of community involvement in all aspects of research. Community is defined beyond geographic boundaries, highlighting the importance of shared identities and values. The process of developing targeted goals with communities toward social justice reform is reviewed, including an evolved community engagement framework, emphasizing the need for training to inform about issues and collaborative leadership models. Several stroke disparities intervention studies are highlighted, demonstrating the successful incorporation of community engagement into intervention design and intervention platforms. For enhanced engagement, the use of community health workers and better integration of community health worker models are essential. There may be a critical need for community engagement to optimize inclusion in clinical trials. Finally, acknowledging the complexities of research around decreasing stroke disparities in prevention, treatment, and recovery, this article delves into a framework for understanding the mechanisms by which interventions affect inequities and the need for multifaceted solutions with the community as a partner. Highlighting the roadmap to health equity, this research argues that community engagement is an integral component at all steps along the road to achieving optimum brain health through equitable stroke treatment, prevention, and recovery.