What Is Community Participation?

Abstract

The Center for Community Inclusion and Reflective Collaboration (the CIRC Center) is a research and training center that aims to significantly advance community participation outcomes among young adults (14–26) with serious mental health conditions from populations that have been marginalized or minoritized. The term community participation is used in mental health services and research to refer to community-based activities that promote overall health and wellness. However, many people find this concept to be confusing, vague, and hard to understand. This tip sheet will define “community participation,” describe relevant experiences of young adults (ages 14–26) with serious mental health conditions (SMHC) from populations that have been marginalized, and provide reflections from our various advisory boards of young adults, family members, and professionals in the field.

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Subject Area

Transition Age Youth

Keywords

Transition age youth, Young adult, mental health, mental health condition, Community participation, Research, RRTC, CIRC Center, The Center for Community Inclusion and Reflective Collaboration

Suggested Citation

Sabella, K., & Thomas, E. (2024). What is Community Participation? Worcester, MA: UMass Chan Medical School, Implementation Science and Practice Advances Research Center (iSPARC), Transitions to Adulthood Center for Research, The Center for Community Inclusion and Reflective Collaboration (CIRC Center). http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/53832