Community Engagement in the BE SAGE Project: Reducing COVID-19 in Hispanic and Low-Income Preschoolers via Testing and Open-Air Garden-Based Education

Hector J Valdez; Michelle Santana; Sandra Genis; Edny Gonzalez; Joanna L Kramer; Rebecca E Lee

doi:10.1177/2752535X241311172

Community Engagement in the BE SAGE Project: Reducing COVID-19 in Hispanic and Low-Income Preschoolers via Testing and Open-Air Garden-Based Education

Community Health Equity Res Policy. 2025 Jan 5:2752535X241311172. doi: 10.1177/2752535X241311172. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hector J Valdez¹, Michelle Santana¹, Sandra Genis¹, Edny Gonzalez², Joanna L Kramer³, Rebecca E Lee¹

Affiliations

¹ Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
² Equality Health Foundation, Helping Families in Need, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
³ Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, USA.

PMID: 39757390
DOI: 10.1177/2752535X241311172

Abstract

Objective: Back to Early Care and Education Safely With Sustainability via Active Garden Education (BE SAGE) involved COVID-19 testing and a free garden-based physical activity and nutrition program at early care and education centers with primarily Hispanic/Latino enrollment. This article describes the project community engagement plan, process, and outcomes focusing on deliberate and intentional staffing, an extensive online presence, and focused outreach.

Methods: BE SAGE purposefully hired bilingual (English/Spanish) and bicultural staff; developed and maintained a large bilingual online presence (website, newsletters, social media), and fostered community partnerships with community health workers (CHWs) and dedicated staff. Hiring records, online internet records, staff calendars, and field notes were coded and tabulated.

Results: 84% of the 13-member research team and all CHWs identified as Hispanic or Latino. Predominantly US users accessed the website (N = 3,108), 36.9% of received electronic newsletters were opened, and 1126 followed social media across four platforms. The Outreach Specialist fostered existing relationships and created new partnerships. With the help of CHWs, 562 research participants completed at least one COVID-19 test.

Conclusions: By prioritizing representative staffing hires, expending substantial resources on an online presence, and establishing and nurturing our community partnerships, our BE SAGE community engagement approach helped to achieve study aims and create lasting community impact. Community engagement and partnerships to forward research requires ample funding and dedicated representative hiring polices to cultivate and maintain community relationships with asset-driven outcomes.

Policy implications: Funding agencies must prioritize community engagement in research outcomes to ensure robust, meaningful scientific discovery and innovation.

Keywords: COVID-19 testing; Hispanic or Latino; child; child nutrition sciences; educational early intervention; exercise; medically underserved area; preschool; return to school; social participation; vulnerable populations.