Community-based Participatory Research

Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) is a collaborative approach to research that actively involves community members in the research process. It emphasizes the importance of local knowledge and perspectives, fostering partnerships between researchers and community stakeholders. This method aims to address health disparities and social issues by ensuring that the research is relevant and beneficial to the community involved. CBPR seeks to empower communities by involving them in all stages of the research, from identifying issues to collecting data and interpreting results.

One of the core principles of CBPR is mutual benefit, where both researchers and community members gain from the research outcomes. This approach also promotes cultural sensitivity and respect for diverse perspectives, acknowledging that different communities have unique needs and contexts. By prioritizing community engagement, CBPR enhances the validity of the research while also building trust between researchers and the communities they study. Ultimately, CBPR aims to translate research findings into actionable strategies that improve community health and well-being.

Published in: 2021

By: Trudy Mercadal, PhD

Subject Terms

Community-based Participatory Research

Last reviewed: February 2017

Abstract

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) seeks to collaborate with and serve the community being investigated, rather than viewing it from the distant and objective lens of traditional research models. Although still underused, community-based participatory research is gaining traction among funding and research organizations, as well as with community activists. The community-based research approach is not without problems, which include ethical, cultural, and validity issues. None of these, however, is an unsurmountable problem, and participatory research models have developed strategies to deal with such issues.

Overview

Participatory research is understood as the collecting of quantitative and qualitative data, usually during the beginning phase of a project, with the purpose of developing a body of information and/or establishing reference points or baselines from which it will be possible to compare and measure outcomes or changes in the object of a study. When participatory research focuses on a community, it is with the idea that community members are not only beneficiaries, but also active participants of the research project. In other words, they are given the space to take the initiative of what the research focus should be.

There are many reasons why researchers prefer participative study approaches. This methodology may be more effective at transforming past social, public health, or production problems for the better, as well as produce knowledge that communities may need to improve their environment.

Engaging the participation of community members, supporters argue, produces realistic and accessible information. The results are easier to interpret by lay populations because it has been selected and gathered by members of the community. Moreover, both the community and researchers are able to acquire more information than if they had worked independently. Finally, in CBPR results are not filed in some distant office or database where, far from the physical origin of the project, they remain inaccessible to the community. Rather, the results remain available locally.The focus of a CBPR project is to benefit the community in the most equitable way possible.

Among the main characteristics of the CBPR are the following: (a) acknowledging the community’s identity, (b) building upon the community’s resources and assets, (c) partnership and mutual learning between researchers and community members, (d) engaging in research that benefits both the research project and the community, (e) focusing on problems as defined by community members, (f) developing a cyclical process to maintain community research partnerships, (g) disseminating knowledge gained from the CBPR project to all stakeholders and participants, and (h) ensuring long-term commitments from all participants or research partners (Israel et al., 2003).

Government agencies, academic institutions, funding organizations, and other groups have expressed support for research methods capable of understanding and illuminating the connections among all social structures—political, cultural, economic—as pertains to research projects. In other words, these organizations call for engaging in investigative practices that comprehend the myriad social roots and ramifications of research outcomes. Participatory approaches of research, then, which emphasize the active partnership of communities in the process, have become crucial to research agendas in various scientific and academic organizations, such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Public Health Foundation. The goal of such studies is to improve the lives and well-being of members in the community participating in the study.

In traditional research, the community is not actively involved in the design, implementation, and follow-up of research. With its emphasis on objectivity, traditional research methods often view participants as objects of observation or samples, and close interaction between researchers and community members in discouraged. Community members who participate in traditional research projects are often, in the end, left without access to the research findings. Discontinuity can be another negative byproduct of traditional research methods because researchers do not maintain contact with key people in the community. Over time, communities may become wary and suspicious of research projects. CBPR, however, allays these suspicious from the beginning, by involving community members and engaging in transparency and participatory research best practices.

CBPR varies somewhat from other participative approaches, but shares many similarities. As such, it may include the following:

An identification and analysis of community needs are synthesized in a document such as case study, report, or monography made available to the community.
Contributions of community participants may include drawings or photography produced by participants. In some cases, the outcomes include a representation by way of a drama or storytelling.
Surface plans or maps drawn by the research partners in the community may be added to graphs or plans produced by field researchers or scientists.
Short interviews with community members on a particular topic relevant to the community, such as health issues, childcare, cattle feeding, or healing practices may be compiled.

CBPR is useful to communities if it helps them analyze, organize, and process information they already have; if it provides more accurate information; and/or if it provides new information. Communities, in turn, may use this information to better understand and improve their own conditions.

CBPR, then, may be used to investigate different issues or have different purposes. Some of these may be to:

identify or clarify objectives of a community research project.
provide more information—new or more precise knowledge—for the project planning activities.
identify and prioritize factors that could affect research activities or objectives. (For example, an investigation might discover that, though fuel has been identified by the community as its most crucial need, food becomes more important during a particular season, revealing a season shift in priorities.)
monitor or gather information about new technologies or practices. (For instance, case studies may provide information about daily practices and allow a follow-up of innovations introduced into such practices.)
evaluate by establishing a baseline and measuring changes throughout the project.

Role of Researchers. Many of the items listed above can be performed by trained community members partnering in a research project. This raises the question about the role of field scientists or researchers working in the project. In CBPR projects, researchers usually act as coordinators or facilitators. Among their most usual activities are:

presenting or clarifying the goals or objectives of the project.
maintaining open channels of communication.
helping create new ways of presenting information that are clear and easy to understand by all.
providing adequate tools to participants so that they may better identify their needs in relation to the possibilities of the study.
facilitating the process of identifying key information.
ensuring the information is adequately organized for follow-up and evaluation.
providing community partners with information they might not be able to access on their own, such as scientific or statistical data.
offering assistance to the community partners, providing them with methods and tools for the collection and presentation of information.
helping organize collected information and providing new ideas.

Further Insights

CBPR studies may have a wide array of purposes. For example, the objective may be to obtain more precise information—which may be qualitative or quantitative. In that case, it is important to inform community partners how this information will be used and discuss how precise it has to be. If, however, the purpose of the study is to help people understand health-related issues in their community, so that it may be taken into account in the design and execution of the long-term phase of the project, then the discussion about the necessary information may focus on available technologies and techniques and how to use them; practices, behaviors and their results; technologies and practices required for the project proposed; and how to combine effectively all of these technologies and practices with their social reality.

One of the most common research errors, as identified by experts, is gathering too much information that seems relevant on the surface. Having too much unnecessary information will create efficiency problems, especially when organizing and analyzing the information. Therefore, information gathering should be limited to a small number of carefully selected questions, and irrelevant information should be set aside (although not discarded).

The information acquired by initial project researchers may be complemented with other pertinent sources, such as libraries, government or historic archives, and market reports. Community members should always be viewed as experts or consultants, yet it may be necessary for researchers to assist community members in interpreting data so that it may be viably implemented. Reports should therefore be produced in clear and direct language.

Finally, according to the Agency for Health care Research and Quality, ways exist in which CBPR may be adequately supported by funders and academic institutions.

Acknowledge and focus on community strengths.
Address community needs.
Build reciprocity and trust across the community.
Develop respectful relationships with opinion leaders in the community.
Sustain relationships after the study ends.
Include communities in designing the project.
Welcome new participants and community groups, such as grassroots organizations.
Ask community members to serve on research institutions’ review boards.
Support community leadership and include community representatives in funding processes.

Issues

Because its emphasis is on collaborating with the community throughout the project and working toward social justice, that is, the reduction of inequality, CBPR is a popular approach for research with vulnerable or underprivileged groups. However, the CBPR approach faces many challenges. Many of these are related to ethics and cultural sensitivity and directly affect the viability of a research project. For a project to be viable in a community, its members must want to prolong it. It is important, then, that people feel appreciated, included, and develop a sense of ownership about the project.

CBRP ideally works to decrease social inequalities that affect minority populations and individuals disadvantaged by gender, age, disability, and/or sexual identity. Conventional research approaches, particularly models that emphasize objectivity and outside expertise, have often proven inefficient in generating adequate information or effect real transformation. CBPR, however, has proven more adequate than traditional research, although it faces particular challenges. Researchers must be aware of these risks and address them.

Ethical challenges include issues such as confidentiality and informed consent. The collaborative nature of CBPR places researchers in a situation in which they might receive sensitive information. All participants, then, must agree from the start on principles for handling sensitive information and what confidentiality means and entails for participants, community, and project. Related to this is the issue of handing information that might cast the community in a negative light or that could affect participants’ confidence in the project. Researchers must carefully decide what information may be reported—or not—in order to protect the identities, safety, and well-being of community members.

Another challenge faced by CBPR researchers is that of working within a culture different from that of the researchers. Working cross-culturally raises the risk of misunderstanding actions and information. Moreover, some information is sacred or essential to a community’s identity and cohesion. Sharing this information in a decontextualized manner might lead to outsiders’ misinterpreting or misusing the information. To avoid this, researchers must have local representatives advise and approve all information that is to be shared, published, or broadcast.

Working cross-culturally requires researchers to be self-aware, that is, to recognize their own cultural biases and beliefs. Working in a multicultural environment or cross-culturally, requires awareness, respect, openness, and careful negotiation. It is possible to acknowledge cultural differences and yet engage in effective research collaboration. By heeding the advice of community members and collaborators, and relying on local understanding of community mores, researchers usually are able to work with a community in an adequate manner.

Other challenges faced by CBPR is ensuring commitments of time. Lengthy processes of change often require long-term commitments, even beyond the research project. It is important that this is clear to community members who may remain in charge of such project. Further, researchers should maintain close ties with key members of the community after the study is done.

While change may seem empowering and beneficial to many in a community, others may feel threatened and concerned. Communicating that transformative change must occur from the bottom-up can help alleviate some of the resistance, because the pace of change remains in the hands of the community itself. Starting with a small and viable pilot project within the community might also help ease openness to change.

Finally, CBPR should be rigorous and ensure the production of sound results. Experts recommend the following criteria to ensure reliable and trustworthy results:

Time. Spending time with a community increases the accuracy of analysis and interpretation.
Place. Spending time in close observation and communication increases the likelihood of accuracy in information gathering.
Language. Researchers who are familiar with the language and ways of a community are able to garner more precise information.
Social circumstances. Being able to observe and engage in a variety of circumstances increases the likelihood of accurate interpretation.
Closeness or intimacy. The closer a researcher is able to get with participants, the greater the likelihood for accuracy.
Consensus. Researchers who repeatedly confirm the meanings and expressions of participants are likelier to reach more accurate interpretations. (Holkup, Tripp-Reimer, Salois & Weiner, 2009)

Terms & Concepts

Community: A group of people who share some cultural aspect and/or a common living space, such as a neighborhood.

Contextual: The meaning of a term or idea related to what surrounds it. For example, “to see” can have different meanings—to be able to perceive something visually or to be able to understand something—depending on the context in which it is expressed.

Feedback: Information about the outcome or performance of a project for the purpose of improving it.

Qualitative: Measuring something by its quality rather than by its quantity.

Quantitative: Measuring something numerically or by its quantity.

Sustainable: Able to be maintained in a relatively stable manner for a long period of time.

Viable: Able to live, thrive, or function successfully.

Bibliography

Frerichs, L., Hassmiller Lich, K., Dave, G., & Corbie-Smith, G. (2016). Integrating systems science and community-based participatory research to achieve health equity. American Journal of Public Health, 106(2), 215–222. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=112413937&site=ehost-live

Holkup, P. A., Tripp-Reimer, T., Salois, E. M., & Weinert, C. (2004). Community-based Participatory Research. An Approach to Intervention Research with a Native American Community. Advances in Nursing Science, 27(3), 162–175.

Israel B. A., Schulz A. J., Parker E. A., Becker A. B., Allen A. J., & Guzman J. R. (2003). Critical issues in developing and following community-based participatory research principles. In M. Minkler and N. Wallerstein N (Eds.), Community-based participatory research for health (pp. 53–76). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Jagosh, J., Bush, P. L., Salsberg, J., Macaulay, A. C., Greenhalgh, T., Wong, G., & Pluye, P. (2015). A realist evaluation of community-based participatory research: Partnership synergy, trust building and related ripple effects. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1–11. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=asn&AN=108667186&site=ehost-live

Lichtveld, M., Kennedy, S., Krouse, R. Z., Grimsley, F., El-Dahr, J., Bordelon, K., & ... Stephens, K. U. (2016). From design to dissemination: implementing community-based participatory research in postdisaster communities. American Journal of Public Health, 106(7), 1235–1242. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Sociology Source Ultimate. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sxi&AN=116097684&site=ehost-live

Mabunda, J. T., Khoza, L. B., Van den Borne, H. B., & Lebese, R. T. (2016). Needs assessment for adapting TB directly observed treatment intervention programme in Limpopo Province, South Africa: A community-based participatory research approach. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 8(2), 1–7.

Ruiping, X., Stone, J. R., Hoffman, J. E., & Klappa, S. G. (2016). Promoting community health and eliminating health disparities through community-based participatory research. Physical Therapy, 96(3), 410–417.

Verney, S. P., Avila, M., Espinosa, P. R., Cholka, C. B., Benson, J. G., Baloo, A., & Pozernick, C. D. (2016). Culturally sensitive assessments as strength based approach to wellness in Native communities: A community-based participatory research project. American Indian & Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center, 23(3), 271–292.

Community-based Participatory Research

On this Page

Subject Terms

Community-based Participatory Research

Abstract

Overview

Further Insights

Issues

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

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