Perceptions of Online Community-based Student Projects: Building Sustainability and Reciprocity with Indigenous Partners

In response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action, Indigenization efforts across Canadian healthcare programs have seen increases in Indigenous health and cultural safety training. It is well-established that community-based learning is an effective strategy for students to learn, but it can be demanding on community and Faculty resources, capacity, and time. The purpose of this research is to evaluate an innovative online deployment of community-based student projects from the perspective of both students and community partners.

The immersive nature of community-based learning allows students to enhance cultural learning. In-person community-based learning is difficult to replicate online, but our findings suggest that a positive impact on student learners can be achieved. Community partner satisfaction and positive feedback demonstrate the effectiveness of our CBPAR framework in implementing projects. Online delivery allows for sustainable engagement with geographically dispersed communities, where travel can be a barrier, and increases project capacity for future iterations.