Community voice in cross-sector alignment: concepts and strategies from a scoping review of the health collaboration literature

Abstract Background Health care access is an important driver of population health, and factors beyond health also drive outcomes. Recognizing the importance social determinants (SDOH), different actors in care, public service sectors are increasingly collaborating to improve outcomes communities. To support such collaboration, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation developed a cross-sector alignment theory change. According change, community voice critical for helping collaboratives address needs. Yet research on offers mixed guidance how should be understood which strategies most effective. Methods This study addresses gap literature with systematic scoping review health-oriented collaboration voice. By scanning key academic journals, searching three databases, obtaining documents from across our professional networks, we identified 36 that collaboratives. Results The reveals several conceptions range strategies. We find fall spectrum between two broad types approaches: active passive. These vary not only level power shared communities collaborators, but involvement required community, this turn has implications while discussed context short-term many lend themselves adoption sustainable and, ultimately, alignment. Conclusion provides characterization conceptualization collaborations new theoretical basis future research. Passive can studied more detail their expected impact disparities. Increased attention resources it requires help practitioners achieve improved researchers understand pathways improvement through collaboration.