This project was a collaboration between Oregon Health Science University, Oregon State University-Cascades, and many community partners. Data was collected in 2023 through 1000+ surveys and ~40 focus group participants.
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Through dissemination efforts, OHSU has collaborated with and/or shared our findings with 20+ organizations across the region, including Better Together, Gender Hive, St. Charles Community Benefits Department, the City Club, the Rotary Club, the Latino Success Initiative, Restorative Justice & Equity, the Bend Human Rights and Equity Commission, the Warm Springs Health & Welfare Committee and Native Aspirations Group, and many others. They also presented findings from the study at the 2023 American Public Health Association Conference as well as the Oregon Public Health Association Conference.
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• Identify and adapt a measure of belonging/resilience for use over time across diverse Central Oregon communities. Develop collaborative conversation guides to aid planning meetings with groups in Central Oregon.
• Refine strategies focused on how and where belonging/resilience measures should be collected based on the literature reviewed. • Identify collaborative partners that provide insights into measuring resilience/belonging.
• Implement an effective data collection strategy to accurately inform development of a community measure of belonging/resilience. By Q1 of Year 2 we will have achieved representable data collection from 1000 survey responses and up to 10 focus groups.
• Develop, implement, and collect survey data from 1000 individuals from a population-based random sample.
• Conduct up to 10 focus groups among participating communities across the Central Oregon region, analyze data, and synthesize results with partners.
Health and Belonging: Community connectedness and belonging are closely tied to health, with family, the workplace, and hobbies/recreational activities were consistently identified as vital components to one’s sense of belonging.
Reciprocity: The experience of giving to the community and getting something in return was also a strong determinant for belonging. Within LGBTQA+ and BIPOC individuals, this theme showed up in the high scores for the survey items “I believe I have something to give to my community,” and simultaneous low scores for “the energy I put into my community comes back to me.” This juxtaposition can lead to feelings of being either “tapped out or untapped.”
Safety: Safety, including physical and emotional aspects, and feeling accepted or welcome in public spaces, emerged as an important facet of belonging.
Infrastructure needs: Participants emphasized a need for infrastructure for places where people can connect and engage. This could include places that are welcoming to families, that represent cultures accurately and appropriately, and where meaningful learning and relationship building can take place.
Community Themes
Parenting and Raising Children
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“As a newer parent…I have gotten kind of used to feeling alone. Parenting young children can be a little isolating, in my experience. However, recently, our older child has begun to make friends at school and my wife and I have made great friends with those kids parents. We all feel so grateful and have a great sense of belonging stemming from those new connections.”
“I often feel like I don't belong at pickup at my children's school. The "in" parents are huddled in a group. If you are not wearing the right clothes, belong to the country club, skiing at Mt Bachelor on the weekends and live in a certain neighborhood, then no one talks to you. It is difficult to fit in.”
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“Kids being able to safely take themselves to school by walking or biking is so important for development of independence and social skills.”
“There's little to do for kids of all ages, especially older. If I ever have children, I don't want to have them here.”
“There is [sic] not enough free or low cost recreation activities for kids in this community.”
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“In restaurants, I often feel like I don't belong because where you have to spend a little bit of time there and usually [my daughter] will wake up and she'll be hungry and I have to nurse her, and then people will give me looks because I'm nursing her in a public space and then I don't feel welcome anymore. I don't feel respected or valued in that moment.”
“We are actually talking about leaving the area because some of my own identities, my kids and their school district, and their identities. We've been here seven years. We're very involved in the community. We have a great network, but we are starting to feel less and less welcome as time goes on.”
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“In Sisters, we have Circle of Friends, which is a mentorship program because we moved across the country, so we don't have grandparents and close family here for our kids. They have a mentor program that the same mentor will kind of grow with your child from kindergarten through high school, and they're very supportive and offer activities and can help send your kids to programs that you can't afford.”
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Belonging in the Workplace
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“I have felt accepted greatly at my present workplace given that the organization organizes [sic] event at different times of the year to celebrate ourselves and celebrate international events… we have fun and bond together to make new relationships with colleagues and other people from the community.”
“I enjoy the close-knit workplace relationships we share and feel comfortable sharing my ideas and opinions.”
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“My workplace centers dominant culture and I usually feel like I'm on the outside.”
“Being a young teacher, I often feel left out in the workplace and like I am Being [sic] dismissed because of my age.”
“[COVID] damaged the sense of community that I used to feel at work…people seem less interested in socializing with colleagues, both inside and outside of the workplace.”
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“My work is very meaningful to me and contributes to our community and helps me feel connected. So I feel uncertain about how I will stay connected once I retire.”
“I am recently retired and have a lot to offer for the betterment of a community, but do not know how to get my name out for consideration.”
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The finalized version of the survey was disseminated in 2023 and we gathered 1,019 responses from residents across Central Oregon. We were able to get adequate representation across various demographic categories, including geography, race/ethnicity, age, and income.
There were 7 focus groups with 4-10 community members each (n=42). The focus groups were held either virtually or in-person and were organized around some of the identified priority populations and/or groups that were underrepresented in survey results (e.g., men). These included Parents/Caregivers, Older Adults, Young Adults, LGBTQA+, Spanish Speakers, Men, and residents of rural areas. These sessions took place in June and July of 2023 and followed a semi-structured protocol.