Kent Key
Biographic Data
| ID | 2561243 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kent Key |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kent |
| FAMILY NAME | Key |
| SIGNATURE | KEY K |
| AFFILIATIONS | Michigan State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1625-7463 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 56 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
A Community Engaged Approach to the Development of the Social Determinants of Health Solutions Lab
SDOH are critical to the reduction and ultimate eradication of health disparities. Creating SDOH focused groups, initiatives, and events utilizing a community engaged approach is critical to building the governance, leadership and direction needed to establish a SDOH community agenda. Cross-disciplinary partnerships are essential to this work
Spirituality and Well-Being
BACKGROUND: Spirituality is important for the well-being of marginalized women, offering strength amid adversity. However, even when women from poverty-stricken communities draw resilience from spirituality, they often continue to exhibit poorer health outcomes compared to dominant groups. OBJECTIVES: The Flint Women's Study was conducted to understand the needs, strengths, hopes, and solutions of women in Flint. This sub-study aims to 1) explore…
Spirituality and Well-Being
The Voice Unheard
BACKGROUND: Eleven years have passed since the 2014 Flint water crisis (FWC), yet many voices still go unheard. There is limited evidence of the impact of the FWC on maternal health. This paper used a cross-sectional study design to survey 152 women enrolled in the Supporting Parents and Raising Resilient Kids (SPARRK) study in Flint, Michigan to examine racial differences in women's perceptions of their overall health pre- and post-FWC, perceive…
A Community-Engaged Approach to Community Health Needs and Assets Assessment for Public Health Research
The Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center (MSM-PRC) conducted a Community Health Needs and Assets Assessment (CHNAA) survey using a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach. In this article, we will demonstrate the application of CBPR in informing research agenda and implementation strategies. We will discuss the practical considerations and potential benefits of engaging the community in data collection, interpret…
Medical Mistrust and Sars-CoV-2 Antibody Testing Among African Americans and White Americans
Recent research suggests that in addition to structural barriers (e.g., access), psychosocial factors like medical mistrust can influence uptake of COVID-19 tools and treatments. However, less is known about racial differences in how medical mistrust affects SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. We evaluated whether medical mistrust alters receptivity to SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing, and whether this influence differs across race. African American ( N = 29…
Building a Learning Community for Inclusive Authorship in Scholarly Writing and Publishing
Beyond the Manuscript
The Flint Public Health Youth Academy (FPHYA) Model for Youth Engaged Writing and Publishing
Youth engagement in the writing process prepares youth for success in scientific career field trajectories and increases the potential for workforce development
Community Authorship in Peer Reviewed Scientific Manuscripts to advance Equity and Credibility
Flint Public Health Youth Academy
While residents of Flint face persistent health and socioeconomic disparities, Flint’s residents have been working to rescue, uplift, and empower themselves for decades. The Flint Public Health Youth Academy (FPHYA) has established a transferable model for advancing just social change through leveraging community leadership in science. In this article, we describe the development of FPHYA from Flint’s strong foundation in community based particip…
Youth Perspectives on the Flint Water Crisis and Its Health Effects
Youth expressed concern about current and long-term health sequelae of the water crisis. Further work is needed to monitor the consequences of the crisis and to identify resident-informed approaches to mitigate its effects and rebuild trust
The Impact of Community Engagement in the Design and Implementation of the Flint Registry
Community engagement elevated voices of those impacted by the FWC. CER methods were as effective as non-CER methods. Although there were no differences in screened measures of social vulnerability, there were in age, gender, and race. CER methods may increase participation and build trust in populations which historically are hesitant to participate in public health efforts
The Impact of Community Engagement in the Design and Implementation of the Flint Registry
Background: The Flint water crisis (FWC) was a public health tragedy caused by crumbling infrastructure, subverted democracy, and indifference toward a predominantly poor and Black community that resulted in lead-in-water exposure, Legionnaires’ disease, and emotional and health-related trauma. Through the cooperation of community partners, the Flint Registry (FR) was conceived to track long-term health and improve public health via service conne…
Flint community science leadership
At the ten-year anniversary of the Flint water crisis, Flint residents continue to work to improve the well-being of their community and advance community leadership in science. While the water crisis is remembered by most as just an egregious example of government mismanagement, a lesser told story is that of the ongoing leadership and mobilization of Flint residents. Our paper reflects on a collaborative project as part of a larger, sustained p…
Advancing Equity Through Centering Societal Values to Operationalize Racism as a Public Health Crisis
Background: The past two decades have been marked by increased efforts to advance equity in various disciplines, including social sciences, public health, environmental health, and medicine. In 2020, a national movement of municipalities declared racism a public health crisis. These efforts have coincided and likely shaped a growing sphere of federal and philanthropic funding for health equity, which frequently calls for practical interventions t…
Examining Community Engagement Research Strategies Used in Flint, Michigan
Flexibility and adaptability are crucial for engaging with a traumatized community. Community-based participatory research work in traumatized communities must acknowledge and respond to community trauma to be successful
Antiracism and Community-Based Participatory Research
Structural racism causes stark health inequities and operates at every level of society, including the academic and governmental entities that support health research and practice. We argue that health research institutions must invest in research that actively disrupts racial hierarchies, with leadership from racially marginalized communities and scholars. We highlight synergies between antiracist principles and community-based participatory res…
We bounce back from the worst of the worst
Economically disadvantaged communities experience disproportionate health and social challenges relative to more affluent areas. This study describes ways women support and give back to their community in a minority-majority community experiencing social, economic and health challenges. We conducted qualitative interviews with 100 women and human service providers serving women in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan. Using methods aligned with commun…
Conceptualizing trust and distrust as alternative stable states
Despite the universally recognized importance of fostering trust and avoiding distrust in governance relationships, there remains considerable debate on core questions like the relation between (dis)trust and the evaluations of the characteristics that make a governance agent appear (un)worthy of trust. In particular, it remains unclear whether levels of (dis)trust simply follow levels of (dis)trustworthiness-such that building trust is primarily…
Developing and maintaining intergenerational relationships in an economically vulnerable community
Few studies describe how community disadvantage impacts intergenerational relationships. Using interviews with women and service providers (n = 100), we explored benefits and challenges of intergenerational relationships in Flint, Michigan, an economically vulnerable community. Women valued relationships that increased social connections and generativity; however, few community resources promoted such relationships. Intergenerational relationship…
Defining success in community-university partnerships
The success of responsible research and innovation (RRI) work is as much about the process of partnership as it is about the products and outcomes. In this paper, we present lessons learned from the first three years of a participatory modeling (PM) research project based on RRI principles and focused on the transformation of the food system in Flint, Michigan through identification of leverage points. Participatory modeling is a type of communit…
Community Science as Resistance to Neoliberal Scientific Praxis
Through CDR, Flint residents work in direct resistance to the tacit integration of neoliberal values into science and alternatively advance community organizing as a key aspect of science toward environmental justice
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self
Women served their community in many roles. However, despite some societal progress, women continue to be underpaid and their contributions undervalued. Rectifying these inequities might contribute to better addressing the needs of women
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self: Flint Women Giving Back to the Community Maji Hailemariam, PhD, Tatiana Elisa Bustos, PhD, Julia W. Felton, PhD, Kent Key, PhD, DeOnica Greer, Bernadel L. Jefferson, Raven Miller, Fallon Richie, Monicia Summers, DPM, Jonne McCoy White, DrPH, and Jennifer E. Johnson, PhD What Is the Purpose of This Study? • Having meaning in life promotes happiness and wellbeing across the lifespan. • A large (n = 100) com…
The Continuum of Community Engagement in Research
A broadly defined CEnR continuum will allow researchers, community members and organizations to readily identify 1) where they are on the continuum of CEnR, 2) appropriate access points to enter the continuum based on existing contextual factors, and 3) actions to promote progression on the continuum. Funders have the opportunity to specify the appropriate level of CE needed to accomplish the goals of their identified priorities
Antiracism and Community-Based Participatory Research
Structural racism causes stark health inequities and operates at every level of society, including the academic and governmental entities that support health research and practice. We argue that health research institutions must invest in research that actively disrupts racial hierarchies, with leadership from racially marginalized communities and scholars. We highlight synergies between antiracist principles and community-based participatory res…
Community Science as a Pathway for Resilience in Response to a Public Health Crisis in Flint, Michigan
While the story of the Flint water crisis has frequently been told, even sympathetic analyses have largely worked to make invisible the significant actions of Flint residents to protect and advocate for their community. Leaving the voices of these stakeholders out of narratives about the crisis has served to deepen distrust in the community. Our project responds to these silences through a community-driven research study aimed explicitly at eleva…
Toxic trauma
We examined the relationship between perceptions of household tap water quality and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the Flint, Michigan, water crisis in 2015–2016. The Speak to Your Health Community Survey is a community-based participatory component of the health surveillance system in Genesee County, Michigan. Perceptions of household tap water quality was added to the 2015–2016 survey wave after inadequate official respons…
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Response effort processes are as important for long-term health outcomes as response effort content
Community-Based Participatory Qualitative Research for Women
Efforts to benefit women should ensure their representation in every step of the process
The Impact of Community Engagement in the Design and Implementation of the Flint Registry
Background: The Flint water crisis (FWC) was a public health tragedy caused by crumbling infrastructure, subverted democracy, and indifference toward a predominantly poor and Black community that resulted in lead-in-water exposure, Legionnaires’ disease, and emotional and health-related trauma. Through the cooperation of community partners, the Flint Registry (FR) was conceived to track long-term health and improve public health via service conne…
Flint community science leadership
At the ten-year anniversary of the Flint water crisis, Flint residents continue to work to improve the well-being of their community and advance community leadership in science. While the water crisis is remembered by most as just an egregious example of government mismanagement, a lesser told story is that of the ongoing leadership and mobilization of Flint residents. Our paper reflects on a collaborative project as part of a larger, sustained p…
Examining Community Engagement Research Strategies Used in Flint, Michigan
Flexibility and adaptability are crucial for engaging with a traumatized community. Community-based participatory research work in traumatized communities must acknowledge and respond to community trauma to be successful
We bounce back from the worst of the worst
Economically disadvantaged communities experience disproportionate health and social challenges relative to more affluent areas. This study describes ways women support and give back to their community in a minority-majority community experiencing social, economic and health challenges. We conducted qualitative interviews with 100 women and human service providers serving women in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan. Using methods aligned with commun…
Conceptualizing trust and distrust as alternative stable states
Despite the universally recognized importance of fostering trust and avoiding distrust in governance relationships, there remains considerable debate on core questions like the relation between (dis)trust and the evaluations of the characteristics that make a governance agent appear (un)worthy of trust. In particular, it remains unclear whether levels of (dis)trust simply follow levels of (dis)trustworthiness-such that building trust is primarily…
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self
Women served their community in many roles. However, despite some societal progress, women continue to be underpaid and their contributions undervalued. Rectifying these inequities might contribute to better addressing the needs of women
Increasing African American Public Health Professionals
Expanding Ethics Review Processes to Include Community-Level Protections
As the Flint community endeavors to recover and move forward in the aftermath of the Flint water crisis, distrust of scientific and governmental authorities must be overcome. Future community engagement in research will require community-level protections ensuring that no further harm is done to the community. A community ethics review explores risks and benefits and complements institutional review board (IRB) review. Using the case of Flint, I …
Toxic trauma
We examined the relationship between perceptions of household tap water quality and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the Flint, Michigan, water crisis in 2015–2016. The Speak to Your Health Community Survey is a community-based participatory component of the health surveillance system in Genesee County, Michigan. Perceptions of household tap water quality was added to the 2015–2016 survey wave after inadequate official respons…
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Response effort processes are as important for long-term health outcomes as response effort content
The Continuum of Community Engagement in Research
A broadly defined CEnR continuum will allow researchers, community members and organizations to readily identify 1) where they are on the continuum of CEnR, 2) appropriate access points to enter the continuum based on existing contextual factors, and 3) actions to promote progression on the continuum. Funders have the opportunity to specify the appropriate level of CE needed to accomplish the goals of their identified priorities
Community Science as a Pathway for Resilience in Response to a Public Health Crisis in Flint, Michigan
While the story of the Flint water crisis has frequently been told, even sympathetic analyses have largely worked to make invisible the significant actions of Flint residents to protect and advocate for their community. Leaving the voices of these stakeholders out of narratives about the crisis has served to deepen distrust in the community. Our project responds to these silences through a community-driven research study aimed explicitly at eleva…
Social and psychological consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic in African-American communities
The mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are particularly relevant in African-American communities because African-Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the disease, yet they are traditionally less engaged in mental health treatment compared with other racial groups. Using the state of Michigan as an example, we describe the social and psychological consequences of the pandemic on African-American communities in the Un…
Intersectionality, special populations, needs and suggestions
Efforts directed towards improving women's health and wellbeing should include perspectives and suggestions of diverse groups of women from the community. Acting on suggestions that emanate from the community's lived experiences may reduce inequalities in health and wellbeing
Increasing African American Public Health Professionals
Community-Based Participatory Qualitative Research for Women
Efforts to benefit women should ensure their representation in every step of the process
The Flint women’s study
Teenage pregnancy can have adverse social and health outcomes, and rates are high in Flint, Michigan as compared to the rest of the state and the USA. It is important to understand contributing factors to adolescent pregnancy to be able to better address this issue. This study examined qualitative data from interviews with 100 community members who participated in the Flint Women's Study, a study designed to better understand the hopes, dreams an…
Beyond the Manuscript
Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action - Volume 15, Issue 4, Winter 2021
It Takes Some Empathy, Sympathy, and Listening”
Developing and maintaining intergenerational relationships in an economically vulnerable community
Few studies describe how community disadvantage impacts intergenerational relationships. Using interviews with women and service providers (n = 100), we explored benefits and challenges of intergenerational relationships in Flint, Michigan, an economically vulnerable community. Women valued relationships that increased social connections and generativity; however, few community resources promoted such relationships. Intergenerational relationship…
Defining success in community-university partnerships
The success of responsible research and innovation (RRI) work is as much about the process of partnership as it is about the products and outcomes. In this paper, we present lessons learned from the first three years of a participatory modeling (PM) research project based on RRI principles and focused on the transformation of the food system in Flint, Michigan through identification of leverage points. Participatory modeling is a type of communit…
Community Science as Resistance to Neoliberal Scientific Praxis
Through CDR, Flint residents work in direct resistance to the tacit integration of neoliberal values into science and alternatively advance community organizing as a key aspect of science toward environmental justice
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self
Women served their community in many roles. However, despite some societal progress, women continue to be underpaid and their contributions undervalued. Rectifying these inequities might contribute to better addressing the needs of women
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self
Belonging to Something Greater Than Self: Flint Women Giving Back to the Community Maji Hailemariam, PhD, Tatiana Elisa Bustos, PhD, Julia W. Felton, PhD, Kent Key, PhD, DeOnica Greer, Bernadel L. Jefferson, Raven Miller, Fallon Richie, Monicia Summers, DPM, Jonne McCoy White, DrPH, and Jennifer E. Johnson, PhD What Is the Purpose of This Study? • Having meaning in life promotes happiness and wellbeing across the lifespan. • A large (n = 100) com…
Advancing Equity Through Centering Societal Values to Operationalize Racism as a Public Health Crisis
Background: The past two decades have been marked by increased efforts to advance equity in various disciplines, including social sciences, public health, environmental health, and medicine. In 2020, a national movement of municipalities declared racism a public health crisis. These efforts have coincided and likely shaped a growing sphere of federal and philanthropic funding for health equity, which frequently calls for practical interventions t…
Examining Community Engagement Research Strategies Used in Flint, Michigan
Flexibility and adaptability are crucial for engaging with a traumatized community. Community-based participatory research work in traumatized communities must acknowledge and respond to community trauma to be successful
Antiracism and Community-Based Participatory Research
Structural racism causes stark health inequities and operates at every level of society, including the academic and governmental entities that support health research and practice. We argue that health research institutions must invest in research that actively disrupts racial hierarchies, with leadership from racially marginalized communities and scholars. We highlight synergies between antiracist principles and community-based participatory res…
We bounce back from the worst of the worst
Economically disadvantaged communities experience disproportionate health and social challenges relative to more affluent areas. This study describes ways women support and give back to their community in a minority-majority community experiencing social, economic and health challenges. We conducted qualitative interviews with 100 women and human service providers serving women in Flint, Genesee County, Michigan. Using methods aligned with commun…
Conceptualizing trust and distrust as alternative stable states
Despite the universally recognized importance of fostering trust and avoiding distrust in governance relationships, there remains considerable debate on core questions like the relation between (dis)trust and the evaluations of the characteristics that make a governance agent appear (un)worthy of trust. In particular, it remains unclear whether levels of (dis)trust simply follow levels of (dis)trustworthiness-such that building trust is primarily…
Flint Public Health Youth Academy
While residents of Flint face persistent health and socioeconomic disparities, Flint’s residents have been working to rescue, uplift, and empower themselves for decades. The Flint Public Health Youth Academy (FPHYA) has established a transferable model for advancing just social change through leveraging community leadership in science. In this article, we describe the development of FPHYA from Flint’s strong foundation in community based particip…
Youth Perspectives on the Flint Water Crisis and Its Health Effects
Youth expressed concern about current and long-term health sequelae of the water crisis. Further work is needed to monitor the consequences of the crisis and to identify resident-informed approaches to mitigate its effects and rebuild trust
The Impact of Community Engagement in the Design and Implementation of the Flint Registry
Community engagement elevated voices of those impacted by the FWC. CER methods were as effective as non-CER methods. Although there were no differences in screened measures of social vulnerability, there were in age, gender, and race. CER methods may increase participation and build trust in populations which historically are hesitant to participate in public health efforts
Political science (26 works) · Sociology (26 works) · Medicine (19 works) · Psychology (18 works) · Public relations (17 works) · Community-based participatory research (13 works) · Participatory action research (13 works) · Community engagement (12 works) · Health Policy Implementation Science (12 works) · Public health (11 works)