Bridging Academia and Society: A Transdisciplinary Model of Community-Based Intervention
Downloads
The gap between academic research and practical, community-based solutions has long hindered the potential for social change and innovation. While academia provides valuable evidence-based knowledge, the direct application of this knowledge in addressing real-world social issues often faces barriers, including a lack of integration with local wisdom and community expertise. This study aims to bridge this gap by proposing a transdisciplinary model of community-based intervention that integrates both academic research and local knowledge to create sustainable, context-specific solutions to community challenges.
The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of this transdisciplinary model in fostering community resilience and social capital. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study combines quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to assess the impact of community engagement that integrates local wisdom with evidence-based practices. The intervention involved community leaders, residents, and academic researchers working together to design and implement solutions for local issues.
The results indicated significant improvements in both community resilience and social capital, demonstrating the effectiveness of the transdisciplinary model. Participants reported stronger social networks, increased trust, and enhanced collective efficacy. These findings suggest that integrating academic and local knowledge can lead to more impactful and sustainable social innovations.
In conclusion, the study highlights the potential of a transdisciplinary approach in fostering meaningful, long-lasting community development. The findings underscore the need for further research to explore the broader applicability of this model in diverse community settings.
Acuña, V., Roldán, F., Tironi, M., & Juzam, L. (2021). The geo-social model: A transdisciplinary approach to flow-type landslide analysis and prevention. Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(5), 1–37. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052501
Brown, M., Narendorf, S. C., Khan, U., Gomez, G., & Munson, M. R. (2025). Co-creating the healing partner: An examination of the feasibility and acceptability of a boundary spanning and provision shifting clinician. Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/10852352.2025.2538316
Cook, S. C., Todi?, J., Spitzer, S., Quintana, V., Singletary, K. A., McGinnis, T., Patel, S., Montasir, S., Ducas, A., Martin, J., Glenn, N., Shaw, M., & Chin, M. H. (2023). Opportunities for Psychologists to Advance Health Equity: Using Liberation Psychology to Identify Key Lessons From 17 Years of Praxis. American Psychologist, 78(2), 211–226. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0001126
Dalla Torre, C. D., Stemberger, S., Bottura, J., Corrent, M., Zanoni, S., Fusari, D., & Gatto, P. (2022). Revitalizing Collective Resources in Mountain Areas Through Community Engagement and Knowledge Cocreation. Mountain Research and Development, 42(4), D1–D13. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd.2022.00013.1
Economos, C. D., & Tovar, A. (2012). Promoting health at the community level: Thinking globally, acting locally. Childhood Obesity, 8(1), 19–22. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2011.0121
Engel-Hills, P., Ibsen, H., & McDonald, L. (2023). Exposing the benefits of a pedagogy of partnership in health professions education. Health SA Gesondheid, 28. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v28i0.2329
Fouad, M. N., Wynn, T. A., Scribner, R., Schoenberger, Y.-M. M., Antoine-LaVigne, D., Eady, S., Anderson, W. A., & Bateman, L. B. (2017). Introduction: Impacting the social determinants of health through a regional academiccommunity partnership: The experience of the mid-south transdisciplinary collaborative center for health disparities research. Ethnicity and Disease, 27, 277–286. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.18865/ed.27.S1.277
Franco, V., Melo, M., Santos, G., Apolónio, A., & Amaral, L. (2017). A national early intervention system as a strategy to promote inclusion and academic achievement in Portugal. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(JUL). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01137
Gan, D. R. Y., Wister, A. V., & Best, J. R. (2022). Environmental Influences on Life Satisfaction and Depressive Symptoms Among Older Adults With Multimorbidity: Path Analysis Through Loneliness in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Gerontologist, 62(6), 855–864. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnac004
Gonzales, M., Verney, S. P., Simmons, J. D., Cacari-Stone, L. C., Scarpetta, M., Martin, R., & Wallerstein, N. (2025). Participatory evaluation of a transdisciplinary behavioral health research center. Evaluation and Program Planning, 113. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2025.102664
Goodkind, J. R., Githinji, A., & Isakson, B. (2011). Reducing health disparities experienced by refugees resettled in urban areas: A community-based transdisciplinary intervention model. Dalam Converging Disciplines: A Transdisciplinary Res. Approach to Urban Hlth. Prob. (hlm. 41–55). Springer New York. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6330-7_4
Goodkind, J. R., Hess, J. M., Vasquez Guzman, C. E., Huyser, K., Lardier, D. T., & Handal, A. J. (2025). Immigrant Wellbeing Project Study Protocol: Addressing the Socio-Structural Determinants of Latinx Immigrant Mental Health. Health Education and Behavior, 52(1), 11–19. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981251345381
Hawke, M., & Byrne, J. (2000). Community-based early childhood assessment and intervention in rural settings: Transdisciplinary case management of developmental delay in children. Aust. J. Prim. Health Interchange, 6(3–4), 130–140. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1071/py00046
Henkle-Langness, T. (2022). Trust and Technology: Synchronizing Health, ICT, and Community-Based Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, to Turn a Third Rail into a Holy Grail. Dalam N. C. Callaos, E. Gaile-Sarkane, S. Hashimoto, & B. Sanchez (Ed.), Proc. World Multi-Conf. Syst., Cybern. Informatics, WMSCI (Vol. 2, hlm. 50–55). International Institute of Informatics and Cybernetics. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.54808/WMSCI2022.02.50
Karl?, A. (2026). Policy frameworks without practice? Exploring marine governance and climate integration challenges in Türkiye. Marine Policy, 186. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2025.107013
Lake, D., Motley, P. M., & Moner, W. (2022). Completing the CiCLE: long-term assessment of community-involved collaborative learning ecosystems for social innovation in higher education. Social Enterprise Journal, 18(1), 28–50. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-10-2020-0089
Ma, J., Fang, G., & Guo, K. (2026). Bridging the digital divide: The influence of digital feedback on the digital capabilities of the rural elderly. Information Development, 42(1), 407–420. Scopus.https:/doi.org/10.1177/02666669231222208
McAllister, C. L., & Thomas, T. (2007). Infant mental health and family support contributions of Early Head Start to an integrated model for community-based early childhood programs. Infant Mental Health Journal, 28(2), 192–215. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.20129
Meehan, D. E., Grunseit, A., Condie, J., HaGani, N., & Merom, D. (2023). Social-ecological factors influencing loneliness and social isolation in older people: A scoping review. BMC Geriatrics, 23(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-023-04418-8
Mehari, K. R., Jeffrey, A., Chastang, C. M., & Schnitker, S. A. (2024). Transdisciplinary participatory action research: How philosophers, psychologists, and practitioners can work (Well) together to promote adolescent character development within context. Journal of Positive Psychology, 19(5), 869–880. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2023.2179933
Mercer, T., Njuguna, B., Bloomfield, G. S., Dick, J., Finkelstein, E., Kamano, J., Mwangi, A., Naanyu, V., Pastakia, S. D., Valente, T. W., Vedanthan, R., & Akwanalo, C. (2019). Strengthening referral networks for management of hypertension across the health system (STRENGTHS) in western Kenya: A study protocol of a cluster randomized trial. Trials, 20(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3661-4
Neuhauser, L., Wang, X., Hong, Y., Sun, X., Zong, Z., Shu, X., Mao, J., Lee, E. W.-J., & Aibe, S. (2018). Collaborative research and action: The changzhou worker wellness project. Dalam Transdisciplinary Theory, Practice and Education: The Art of Collaborative Research and Collective Learning (hlm. 221–239). Springer International Publishing. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93743-4_15
Pasetto, R., Biggeri, A., Piccolo, C., & Malavasi, G. (2024). Environmental justice and local knowledge in the “One Health and Citizen Science” Project. Epidemiologia e prevenzione, 48(6), 495–505. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.19191/EP24.6.A818.140
Pinero de Plaza, M. A., Yadav, L., & Kitson, A. (2023). Co-designing, measuring, and optimizing innovations and solutions within complex adaptive health systems. Frontiers in Health Services, 3. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3389/frhs.2023.1154614
Ramey, S. L., Schafer, P., DeClerque, J. L., Lanzi, R. G., Hobel, C., Shalowitz, M., Chinchilli, V., & Raju, T. N. K. (2015). The Preconception Stress and Resiliency Pathways Model: A Multi-Level Framework on Maternal, Paternal, and Child Health Disparities Derived by Community-Based Participatory Research. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 19(4), 707–719. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-014-1581-1
Rojas, A., Valley, W., Mansfield, B., Orrego, E., Chapman, G. E., & Harlap, Y. (2011). Toward food system sustainability through school food system change: Think & eatgreen at school and the making of a community-university research alliance. Sustainability, 3(5), 763–788. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/su3050763
Schensul, S. L., Nastasi, B. K., & Verma, R. K. (2006). Community-based research in India: A case example of international and transdisciplinary collaboration. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38(1–2), 95–111. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-006-9066-z
Spiegel, S. J., & Veiga, M. M. (2005). Building capacity in small-scale mining communities: Health, ecosystem sustainability, and the Global Mercury Project. EcoHealth, 2(4), 361–369. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-005-8389-9
Sprague-Martínez, L. S., Rubin, C. L., Russell, B., Leslie, L. K., & Brugge, D. (2011). Community conceptualizations of health: Implications for transdisciplinary team science. Clinical and Translational Science, 4(3), 163–167. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-8062.2011.00289.x
Sripa, B., & Tangkawattana, S. (2025). One Health showcase from Asia: The Lawa model—A community-based approach to liver fluke control in Thailand. Science in One Health, 4. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soh.2025.100108
Tan, B. Y., Woon, E. Y. S., Yang, S.-Y., Griva, K., Skou, S. T., Hunter, D., Briggs, A. M., Thumboo, J., & Car, J. (2025). Collaborative model of care between orthopaedics and allied health professionals in knee osteoarthritis (CONNACT): Process evaluation of an effectiveness-implementation hybrid randomized control trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 26(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-025-08925-0
Winkels, R. M., Sturgeon, K. M., Kallan, M. J., Dean, L. T., Zhang, Z., Evangelisti, M., Brown, J. C., Sarwer, D. B., Troxel, A. B., Denlinger, C., Laudermilk, M., Fornash, A., DeMichele, A., Chodosh, L. A., & Schmitz, K. H. (2017). The women in steady exercise research (WISER) survivor trial: The innovative transdisciplinary design of a randomized controlled trial of exercise and weight-loss interventions among breast cancer survivors with lymphedema. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 61, 63–72. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2017.07.017
Copyright (c) 2026 Samantha Gonzales, Andres Villanueva, Catherine Li
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
