Voices of Community Partners: Perspectives Gained from Conversations of Community-Based Participatory Research Experiences

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been documented as an effective approach to research with underserved communities, particularly with racial and ethnic minority groups. However, much of the literature promoting the use of CBPR with underserved communities is written from the perspective of the researchers and not from the perspective of the community partner. The purpose of this article is to capture lessons learned from the community partners’ insight gained through their experiences with CBPR. A multi-investigator consensus method was used to qualitatively code the transcripts of a CBPR story-telling video series. Seven major themes were identified: (1) expectations for engaging in research, (2) cultural humility, (3) respecting the partnership, (4) open communication, (5) genuine commitment, (6) valuing strengths and recognizing capacities, and (7) collaborating to yield meaningful results. The themes drawn from the community partner’s voice align with the tenets of CBPR advanced in the academic literature. More opportunities to include the community voice when promoting CBPR should be undertaken to help introduce the concepts to potential community partners who may be research cautious.

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Enhancing racial equity in LIS research by increasing representation of BIPOC

Education for Information ◽

10.3233/efi-211530 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 247-256

Author(s):

Charles R. Senteio ◽

Kaitlin E. Montague ◽

Bettina Campbell ◽

Terrance R. Campbell ◽

Samantha Seigerman

Keyword(s):

Social Justice ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Health Inequity ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Social Injustice ◽

Racial Equity ◽

Community Based ◽

Community Partners ◽

Racial Injustice

The escalation of discourse on racial injustice prompts novel ideas to address the persistent lack of racial equity in LIS research. The underrepresentation of BIPOC perspectives contributes to the inequity. Applying the Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach meaningfully engages BIPOC to help guide LIS investigations that identify evolving needs and concerns, such as how systematic racism may contribute to social justice issues like environmental and health inequity. Engaging with BIPOC, using the CBPR approach, can help address racial equity in LIS because it will result in increased racial representation which enables incorporation of the perspectives and priorities of BIPOC. This shift to greater engagement is imperative to respond to escalating attention to social injustice and ensure that these central issues are adequately reflected in LIS research. The discipline is positioned to help detail the drivers and implications of inequity and develop ways to address them. We underscore the importance of working across research disciplines by describing our CBPR experience engaging with BIPOC in LIS research. We highlight the perspectives of community partners who have over two decades of experience with community-based LIS research. We offer lessons learned to LIS researchers by describing the factors that make these initiatives successful and those which contribute to setbacks.

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Community Partner Perspectives on Benefits, Challenges, Facilitating Factors, and Lessons Learned from Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships in Detroit

Progress in Community Health Partnerships Research Education and Action ◽

10.1353/cpr.2015.0031 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 299-311 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Wilma Brakefield Caldwell ◽

Angela G. Reyes ◽

Zachary Rowe ◽

Julia Weinert ◽

Barbara A. Israel

Keyword(s):

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Community Partner ◽

Community Based ◽

Research Partnerships ◽

Facilitating Factors

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Lessons from a community-based participatory research study with transgender and gender nonconforming youth and their families

Action Research ◽

10.1177/1476750318818875 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 186-207 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sabra L Katz-Wise ◽

Annie Pullen Sansfaçon ◽

Laura M Bogart ◽

Milagros C Rosal ◽

Diane Ehrensaft ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Well Being ◽

Research Process ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Community Partner ◽

Community Members ◽

Community Based ◽

Gender Nonconforming ◽

And Gender

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) involves community members collaborating with academic investigators in each step of the research process. CBPR may be especially useful for research involving marginalized populations with unique perspectives and needs. In this paper, we discuss successes and challenges of using a CBPR approach for the Trans Teen and Family Narratives Project, a longitudinal mixed-methods study to examine how the family environment affects the health and well-being of transgender and gender nonconforming youth. We describe considerations for using a CBPR approach with this population, including defining the community of transgender and gender nonconforming youth and families, engaging the community in the research process, managing conflicting agendas for community partner meetings, addressing insider/outsider status of the researchers, resolving researcher/community tensions regarding data collection tools, integrating academic and community members into a cohesive research team, developing safety plans to address participant suicidality disclosures, and differentiating the role of academics as researchers vs. advocates. We conclude by sharing lessons learned, which can inform future research to address the needs of transgender and gender nonconforming youth and families.

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Recruiting Low-Income African American Men in Mental Health Research: A Community-Based Participatory Research Feasibility Study

American Journal of Men s Health ◽

10.1177/15579883211018418 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 155798832110184

Author(s):

Tatiana Tchouankam ◽

Paul Estabrooks ◽

Anthony Cloyd ◽

Maxine Notice ◽

Maria Teel-Williams ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Health Intervention ◽

Mental Health Intervention ◽

Community Partner ◽

Community Based ◽

Community Partners ◽

Study Objective ◽

Direct Referral

African Americans (AAs) are 20% more likely to develop serious psychological distress compared to Whites but are less likely to use mental health services. The study objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of recruitment strategies to engage AA fathers in a mental health intervention. Using the community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, a community-academic partnership (CAP) developed and implemented direct and indirect referral strategies to engage AA fathers in a mental health intervention. Direct referral strategies focused on community partner identification of potentially eligible participants, providing information about the study (i.e., study flyer), and referring potential participants to the study. Indirect referrals included posting flyers in local businesses frequented by AA men, radio advertisements, and social media posts from community organizations. From January to October 2019, 50 direct and 1388 indirect referrals were documented, yielding 24 participants screened and 15 enrolled. Of all participants screened, 58% were referred through indirect referral, 38% were referred directly by community partners, and 4% of the participants were referred through both direct and indirect referrals. Twenty percent of those exposed to the direct referral methods and 1% of those exposed to the indirect referral methods were enrolled. The indirect referrals accounted for 60% of enrollment, whereas the direct referrals accounted for 33.3% of enrollment. Collaborating with the community partners to engage hard-to-reach populations in mental health studies allowed for broad dissemination of recruitment methods, but still resulted in low participant accrual. Additional focus on increasing direct referral methods appears to be a fruitful area of CBPR.

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Growing a Community-Academic Partnership: Lessons Learned in Forming a Qualitative Interview Team for the Community Partners in Care Study

Ethnicity & Disease ◽

10.18865/ed.28.s2.365 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 28 (Supp) ◽

pp. 365-370

Author(s):

Gera L. Anderson ◽

S. Megan Heller ◽

Esmeralda Pulido ◽

Phuscedia Williams ◽

Alisa Orduna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Community Members ◽

Community Based ◽

Community Partners ◽

Building Trust ◽

Study Participants ◽

Interview Team ◽

Care Study

By engaging, partnering, and building trust with community members, research on vulnerable populations may offer opportunities to improve population health in communities that suffer from health disparities. While the literature on participatory and partnered approaches offers techniques and strategies for forming community-academic partnerships, less information is available about how partnerships can grow and evolve over time. In this article, we describe the expansion of a long-standing partnership that uses principles of community partnered participatory research (CPPR), a variant of community-based participatory research (CBPR). We outline the preparation and executive phases of conducting qualitative interviewing with highly vulnerable study participants who have already been participants in a longitudinal survey. We describe the challenges and concerns at each phase of the research and summarize some lessons learned. To grow and evolve, the partnership must constantly be reaffirmed in the experiences of new members.Ethn Dis. 2018;28(Suppl 2):365- 370; doi:10.18865/ed.28.S2.365.

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Modeling the Principles of Community-Based Participatory Research in a Community Health Assessment Conducted by a Health Foundation

Health Promotion Practice ◽

10.1177/1524839906294419 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 67-75 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Karen Jaynes Williams ◽

Patricia Gail Bray ◽

Carrie K. Shapiro-Mendoza ◽

Ilana Reisz ◽

Jane Peranteau

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Participatory Research ◽

Health Assessment ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Local Area ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Community Based ◽

Community Health Assessment ◽

Practical Applications

The authors discuss strategies used and lessons learned by a health foundation during development of a community health assessment model incorporating community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches. The assessment model comprises three models incorporating increasing amounts of CPBR principles. Model A combines local-area analysis of quantitative data, qualitative information (key informants, focus groups), and asset mapping. Model B, a community-based participatory model, emphasizes participatory rural appraisal approaches and quantitative assessment using rapid epidemiological assessment. Model C, a modified version of Model B, is financially more sustainable for our needs than Model B. The authors (a) describe origins of these models and illustrate practical applications and (b) explore the lessons learned in their transition from a traditional, nonparticipatory, quantitative approach to participatory approaches to community-health assessment. It is hoped that this article will contribute to the growing body of knowledge of practical aspects of incorporating CBPR approaches into community health assessments.

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Engage for Equity: A Long-Term Study of Community-Based Participatory Research and Community-Engaged Research Practices and Outcomes

Health Education & Behavior ◽

10.1177/1090198119897075 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 47 (3) ◽

pp. 380-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Nina Wallerstein ◽

John G. Oetzel ◽

Shannon Sanchez-Youngman ◽

Blake Boursaw ◽

Elizabeth Dickson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Participatory Research ◽

Community Based Participatory Research ◽

Community Support ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Theory Of Change ◽

Community Based ◽

Community Engaged Research ◽

The Past ◽

Long Term Study ◽

The University

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) and community-engaged research have been established in the past 25 years as valued research approaches within health education, public health, and other health and social sciences for their effectiveness in reducing inequities. While early literature focused on partnering principles and processes, within the past decade, individual studies, as well as systematic reviews, have increasingly documented outcomes in community support and empowerment, sustained partnerships, healthier behaviors, policy changes, and health improvements. Despite enhanced focus on research and health outcomes, the science lags behind the practice. CBPR partnering pathways that result in outcomes remain little understood, with few studies documenting best practices. Since 2006, the University of New Mexico Center for Participatory Research with the University of Washington’s Indigenous Wellness Research Institute and partners across the country has engaged in targeted investigations to fill this gap in the science. Our inquiry, spanning three stages of National Institutes of Health funding, has sought to identify which partnering practices, under which contexts and conditions, have capacity to contribute to health, research, and community outcomes. This article presents the research design of our current grant, Engage for Equity, including its history, social justice principles, theoretical bases, measures, intervention tools and resources, and preliminary findings about collective empowerment as our middle range theory of change. We end with lessons learned and recommendations for partnerships to engage in collective reflexive practice to strengthen internal power-sharing and capacity to reach health and social equity outcomes.

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