We conducted four focus groups with community members (youth, parents/caregivers, and older adults) which helped to build an understanding of community members' lived experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and specific public health community needs and issues that members identify as important to explore further. (see image for key takeaways)

We conducted one youth-led Vaccine Town Hall which allowed youth to share their experiences living through the pandemic, their decision making process in deciding to get vaccinated, and provided youth an opportunity to ask questions to medical/public health experts. (see image for key takeaways)

We conducted three community conversations which promoted a productive dialogue between community members and local public health/medical experts about what public health is, chronic health challenges in our neighborhoods that were exacerbated or highlighted by COVID-19, and the kinds of public health supports we need to create more equitable health outcomes for our local communities. (see image for key takeaways)

Youth Engagement:

NYSCI Explainers are critical contributors to this project, participating in yearly fellowships as active team members developing their research, prototyping, and design and development skills while also connecting this skill building to better understanding how public health affects the people and communities around them.

Our first cohort of Explainer Fellows conducted literature reviews, helped design research instruments and protocols, conducted observations, analyzed data from focus groups and conversations with local community members, and organized a Youth Town Hall featuring local middle school students and public health professionals.

Our second cohort of Explainer Fellows explored the five social determinants of health and different public health models, developed themes from community data collected during the needs assessment, and designed a public health board game focused on social mobility to highlight one of the social determinants of health (economic stability).

Our third cohort of Explainers is currently building knowledge about public health, unpacking themes from the community needs assessment, and learning about the design, testing, and prototyping process, leading to the co-design of exhibit experiences centering public health concepts and career pathways.

Dissemination:

We are disseminating to communities of interest in a variety of ways, including annual participation in the NIH SciEd conference where we have shared our approaches to youth engagement, participation in community events such as the annual public meeting of a local hospital to share about our partnership, a panel session at the Visitor Studies Association virtual conference to share our approaches to authentic community engagement, and other ongoing conferences and events involving cultural institutions broadly.