Community-Based Participatory Research

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a systematic way of approaching research endeavors with members of typically underserved communities (Danley & Ellison, 1997; Israel et al., 2004). The inherently collaborative approach is designed to foster co-learning, that is, a bi-directional process of learning in which researchers and community members work together to understand the unique needs and disparities of the particular population. As opposed to traditional research which is often researcher-initiated and hierarchically developed and conducted, a CBPR framework means that researchers are working in tandem with the members of the particular population themselves to initiate, develop, and carry out all aspects of the research process.