Abstract

This paper employs a literature review, an ethical/philosophical analysis, and authors experience to develop a framework for guiding community-academic partnerships in collaborating to pursue health equity. The framework involves dynamic and interactive categories of Core Concepts, Guiding Principles, and Key Processes. Core Concepts are that collaboration involves partners in-relation who walk and explore together, ethics involved throughout. Guiding Principles are to honor community rights and well-being, primarily promote community health equity, secondarily advance academic interests, ensure justice throughout, and sustain principles involving mutuality (respect, transparency, authenticity, trustworthiness, care, humility (cultural and epistemic/knowledge), and solidarity). Key Processes are periodic reflexivity with framework critical review; deliberation, discussion, and decision; and negotiation and conflict resolution. The literature review only addressed publications in English. Most articles focused on the United States, as does much of the authors experience. Thus, the analysis could overlook aspects that a more global examination might reveal. Thus, the framework is provisional.

Keywords: Collaboration; Partnership; Ethics; Health equity; Community; Academy