The Role of Radiology in Community Engagement

Health disparities represent a significant and growing concern in the United States, largely due to recent recognition of worse outcomes experienced by historically underserved groups. Radiologists have an opportunity to address these disparities by using community engagement (CE) to deepen their knowledge about patient and community-level barriers and inform the development of programs focused on improving patient access to timely radiology care. Various established frameworks, such as the socioecologic model and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities research framework, can be adapted and leveraged by radiology practices to promote CE and advance health equity. These models emphasize multilevel interactions among individual factors to broader societal influences, enabling tailored approaches to addressing disparities in access to radiologic services. Providing practical ways of applying these models will increase the presence and impact of radiology in the community. In this article, case-based practical examples of current CE efforts in radiology are presented, with the aim of empowering radiologists to engage in and lead community-focused initiatives. For each case study, specific disparities and access to radiologic services, as well as intervention strategies, are described. Finally, the authors present adaptations to existing models and frameworks to inform a radiology-centric CE model that can be used to sustainably address health disparities by enhancing educational efforts, building coalitions, and developing comprehensive outreach strategies. This proposed model is intended to not only alleviate disparities but also mitigate radiologist burnout, thereby enhancing both community health outcomes and radiologist well-being. ^©RSNA, 2025 See the invited commentary by Hajjar and Brewington in this issue.