Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

Community-based participatory research is a "collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community, has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities."
            -WK Kellogg Foundation Community Health Scholars Program

CBPR is a model for research that places particular importance on the application of collected data to projects and interventions that will benefit the community being studied.  A key aspect to this process in community health projects is that the community being studied is actively involved early in the process of defining the research question(s) and carrying out the study’s design. Then, findings from the study are used to inform the interventions that will benefit that community. In this way, CBPR is a research method that gives the results of the study back to the community, which effectively bridges research and practice. Thus, CBPR has been used as an effective tool when working with disadvantaged communities as an opportunity for the community to voice the issues affecting their health and/or other social status.1

ISCOPES’ projects with some community partner organizations could involve researching a particular community’s needs in more depth and passing that information on to the partner organization, community at large, and/or future ISCOPES teams. Assuming the context and conditions have not changed, future ISCOPES teams can utilize the findings to begin implementing a project based on the results. ISCOPES teams can also use CBPR as a way to do research while interacting with the community in which the team is working.

Before beginning CBPR, teams should review the research guidelines at GW. In particular, if a team is surveying, interviewing, or collecting data from people, then a research proposal should be submitted to the Institutional Review Board. Talk with the ISCOPES director for assistance with this process. 

For additional information

The Community-Campus Partnerships for Health website offers an overview and additional information on CBPR at: http://depts.washington.edu/ccph/commbas.html. In addition, they host a listserve and archived information on CBPR that is free to join. To sign up, click here.

References

1Center for Collaborative Planning (2000) Sustainability Benchmarks. Sacramento. CA: Author. Reprinted in Backer T.E. (2003) Evaluating Community Collaborations. New York, Springer. pp. 101–106.

2Community Health Scholars Program (CHSP) (2002) The Community Health Scholars Program: Stories of Impact. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

3Israel BA, Schulz AJ, Parker E, Becker AB. (2001). Community-Based Participatory Research: Policy Recommendations for Promoting a Partnership Approach in Health Research. Education for Health14 (2): 182-197.