It makes a difference when you have a person that is
so involved and
so dedicated.
It makes a difference when folks actually show up
and start helping.
That made a world of difference.
What Happens When Research Listens with Its Heart?
What if research findings didn’t only exist in charts, tables, graphs, or themes, but also in the voices, rhythms, thoughts, and identities of real people? The opening poem is actually part of the research findings of a study led by Dr. Catherine Sanders in collaboration with Dr. Alexa Lamm, Dr. Jori Hall, Dr. Abigail Borron, Dr. Maria Navarro and Dr. James Anderson. In 2018, when Dr. Catherine Sanders joined the Healthier Together project as part of the Lamm Lab, she little knew that she would craft poetic dialogues that truly expressed the identities, emotions, social bonds, and camaraderie of the study’s participants.
Having experienced disconnection from her own cultural heritage during her upbringing, Dr. Sanders notes that she began to see how identity and social bonds shape people’s behaviors. She remains deeply fascinated by how culture and heritage continue to influence our sense of self.
Oftentimes, research results are presented in very traditional ways that are straightforward, dry, and rarely capture the attention of intended users. However, some scholars have suggested that using creative arts in evaluating programs and sharing their results can inspire different approaches to learning while also understanding the values the program offers. The Healthier Together (HT) project was a five-year evaluation of a community health promotion initiative aimed at reducing diet-related chronic diseases by increasing access to nutrient-dense foods and safe spaces for physical activity in five rural Georgia counties at risk of obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with the University of Georgia’s Colleges of Public Health, Family and Consumer Science, Agriculture and Environmental Science, and the Cooperative Extension. Focus group participants were recruited through local county extension agents in each community, with sessions held from May to July 2022.
Letting Communities Speak for Themselves
Grounded in the Identity-in-Context Framework, which highlights how identity interacts with factors within a community development setting, the authors analyzed the transcripts from the focus groups by extracting phrases to create poetic dialogues. How did they do this? Instead of merely coding themes, they listened for feelings and rhythms, weaving participants’ words into poetic expressions. It’s like listening to them speak again, not just hearing what was said, but capturing how it resonated in the room during those conversations.
“The major motivation for exploring the poetic methodology was seeing that the ways in which we were presenting the results of our project were not resonating with the community members. There seemed to be a disconnect between the work they were doing, their collective self-conceptualization, and the impacts we were reporting,” said Dr. Sanders.
In the end, four poems were created, one from each County’s focus group: “Together as Partners”, “This is What We’re Doing, This is How We’re Doing It”, “Opportunity to Be Social”, and “Let’s Call Bobby!”.
Dr. Sanders recalled an affective moment, seen in the poem for County #4, when the focus group participants called a member of their group who could not attend the meeting. “This was a moment of both humor and pride, seeing the positive spirit exemplified by bragging on the accomplishments of their collaborators within the coalition,” she said.
When Evaluation Feels Like a Conversation
The communities saw themselves in the poems, and evaluation became more than just reporting; it became a conversation starter.
The poems were read aloud in each county during the annual report for formative evaluation. Community members later requested copies of the poems to share their impact within their communities. Evaluators also viewed the poems as tools that community members can use, created from their own insider voices, to narrate their stories of community development and health promotion efforts.
This study highlights the potential for art and research to collaborate and create meaningful social impacts. The poetic dialogue shows that communities are not just data points but hold intangibles that bond people together and create a sense of identity. It demonstrates that good evaluation isn’t only about measuring results but also about understanding people.
This study builds on a previous study by Dr. Sanders and Dr. Lamm in 2022 that developed poetic transcriptions from interview data.
