Enhancing Community-Based Participatory Research Through Human-Centered Design Strategies

Introduction. The purpose of this review is to compare and contrast the values, purpose, processes, and outcomes of human-centered design (HCD) and community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches to address public health issues and to provide recommendations for how HCD can be incorporated into CBPR partnerships and projects. Review Process. By consulting published literature, source materials, and experts on both approaches, a team of researchers completed a three-phased process of synthesizing key similarities and differences between HCD and CBPR and generating recommendations for ways to integrate HCD strategies in CBPR projects. Results. There are five HCD strategies that can be readily incorporated into CBPR projects to improve outcomes: (1) form transdisciplinary teams, (2) center empathy, (3) recruit and work with “extreme users,” (4) rapidly prototype, and (5) create tangible products or services. Conclusions. Integrating HCD in CBPR projects may lead to solutions that potentially have greater reach, are more readily adopted, are more effective, and add innovation to public health services, products, and policies.