Community-based participatory research

Community engagement brings together community stakeholders to achieve mutually agreed-upon goals or to address mutually agreed-upon concerns. Fundamental to community engagement is a requirement of respect for the community and the incorporation of community attitudes, beliefs, and insights on needs and problems when developing programs, interventions, and research. Because of these characteristics, community engagement is believed to increase the likelihood of community acceptance of and response to programs and policies designed to improve well-being. There are many forms of community engagement, with community-based participatory research (CBPR) most often discussed in public health. This chapter provides a brief history of CBPR and, then, describes key concepts and principles of the model. The steps required to initiate and sustain CBPR are discussed, and an example of a successful CBPR partnership is presented. The chapter ends with a discussion of strategies to improve partnership functioning and sustainability.