Commentary on Community-Based Participatory Research and Community Engaged Research in Health for Journal of Participatory Research Methods

Abstract

Launching a new journal on participatory research methods provides a wonderful opportunity to both acknowledge and deepen contributions to the vibrant fields of community-based participatory research (CBPR) and community-engaged research (CEnR) in the health fields. Many other disciplines, such as education, sociology, community and regional planning, communication, etc., share overlapping terms with similar commitments to shared power in research, including participatory action research, action research, participatory research, youth participatory action research, public involvement, practitioner research, collaborative research, citizen science, street science, and, a newer term in health, participatory health research, from the International Collaborative of Participatory Health Research. Within health, CBPR has been the most well-recognized form of community-engaged research for over thirty years (Wallerstein et al., 2018). Since 1998, it has operated with principles well-defined by Israel et al. (2013), and a widelydistributed definition launched in 2001 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The principles and definition ground research practitioners in long-term commitments to co-develop research with community partners, and to build from community strengths and priorities for the purposes of translating research results into policy, practice, or system-change actions towards improving health and health equity. Minkler et al. (2012) added the principles of cultural humility and importance of addressing racism, sexism, homophobia, and other inequities of power hierarchies within academiccommunity partnerships and in society. While CBPR has often been seen as calling for involvement of grassroots people from communities, neighborhood associations, or social movements, community partners in CBPR can extend to other stakeholders, such as staff from community-based organizations, public agencies or private-sector settings, and policy makers.