The Inaugural Engage Summit: Proceedings and Call to Action

Abstract

Community-engaged research intentionally engages communities and people with lived experience as equal partners in the research process from project ideation through dissemination. The American Occupational Therapy Foundation sponsored a 2-day Engage Summit in October of 2024 to: showcase the depth and breadth of high-quality community-engaged research within occupational therapy, identify and evaluate systematic approaches to community-engaged methodologies to elevate occupational therapy–informed community-engaged scholarship, including evaluation, measurement, and dissemination, and build capacity among people with lived experience to actively engage in community-engaged research as full and equal partners. The event culminated in a World Café, a participatory process wherein attendees identified priorities for community-engaged research to guide the profession. The purpose of this paper is to provide a high-level overview of the proceedings, showcase the results from the World Café, and issue a call to action for continued development and institutional support of community-engaged research within occupational therapy and beyond.

Plain Language Summary

Community-Engaged Research within Occupational Therapy: Proceedings and Call to Action from the AOTF Engage Summit

Community-engaged research brings together academic research and people with lived experience as equal partners in the research process to address questions that are important to the community. This paper provides an overview of the 2024 Engage Summit sponsored by the American Occupational Therapy Foundation, including attendees’ recommendations for future conferences as well as for infrastructures to ensure the continued growth of community-engaged research within occupational therapy and beyond.