What is a Collection?
Playbook Collections explore interventions that address the needs of people with complex needs by curating available peer-reviewed research, case studies, and tools. Although not exhaustive, Collections evolve as new and promising research and other resources are available.
Across the nation, health care payers, providers, and policymakers are seeking ways to engage community members to better understand barriers to good health and invest in programs that better meet community needs. Medicaid enrollees and people enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid disproportionately experience high rates of complex health and social needs. Engaging with this population can positively impact health outcomes.
While there is robust evidence supporting the benefits of patient engagement in improving self-management for people with complex needs, there is limited evidence on engaging patients and community members in organizational or policy decision-making and co-design. Driven by growing recognition that involving community members in this way can improve population health, many health care stakeholders are seeking to enhance their community engagement processes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Access rule, published in April 2024, aims to improve health outcomes for beneficiaries by expanding opportunities for people with lived experience to inform Medicaid program design and policy decision-making.
Health care stakeholders, including policymakers, health plans, and providers, can use this Better Care Playbook Collection to understand emerging evidence and best practices for implementing community engagement interventions to better meet community needs and improve health outcomes.
What are emerging evidence and best practices for designing community engagement strategies in health care?
Following are summaries of peer-reviewed research and reports on community engagement approaches. Many of these resources summarize qualitative data on process outcomes and detail promising approaches for improving community engagement initiatives, including at the policy and program levels.
What does effective community engagement look like in practice?
Following are first-hand perspectives and experiences on implementing community engagement initiatives that drive health care system improvements. Detailed case studies can help inform stakeholders interested in implementing similar approaches.
How can my organization implement similar community engagement approaches?
Following are practical tools that health plans, policymakers, health system leaders, and other interested stakeholders can use to develop community engagement initiatives that foster program, organization, or policy change and center community voice.