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Title: Participatory development and implementation of a community research workshop: Experiences from a community based participatory research (CBPR) partnership

Author
item STEWART, M - UAMS
item COLLEY, DIANNE - University Arkansas For Medical Sciences (UAMS)
item HUFF, ANNA - UAMS
item FELIX, HOLLY - DELTA NIRI
item SHELBY, BEATRICE - DELTA NIRI
item STRICKLAND, EARLINE - DELTA NIRI
item McCabe Sellers, Beverly
item REDMOND, PATRICIA - DELTA NIRI
item EVANS, MARGARET - DELTA NIRI
item BAKER, BESSIE - DELTA NIRI
item STEPHENS, GLENDA - DELTA NIRI
item Nuss, Henry

Submitted to: Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education and Action
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/26/2009
Publication Date: 7/1/2009
Citation: Stewart, M., Colley, D., Huff, A., Felix, H., Shelby, B., Strickland, E., McCabe Sellers, B.J., Redmond, P., Evans, M., Baker, B., Stephens, G., Nuss, H.J. 2009. Participatory development and implementation of a community research workshop: Experiences from a community based participatory research (CBPR) partenership. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education and Action. 3(2):165-178.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: While community based participatory research (CBPR) principles stress the importance of "equitable partnerships" and an "empowering and power-sharing process that attends to social inequalities", descriptions of actual projects often cite the challenges confronted in academic–-community partnerships. These challenges occur in the context of economic and power inequities and the, frequently, limited diversity of researchers. Less often does this discourse attend to the link between the principles of CBPR and their empowering potential for community members who internalize them and use them to hold outside partners accountable to these ideals. This article documents the participatory development and implementation of a community research workshop; the community and organizational context; the results of the workshop evaluation; and lessons learned. Original workshop objectives included increasing community knowledge of the process of research, and positively impacting community members' perceptions and attitudes about research. The workshop was implemented in three rural communities of the Lower Mississippi Delta. Evaluation data sources included a pre- and post-workshop questionnaire that were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact test of differences between selected pre- and post-responses. The workshop evaluation was designed to determine if the workshop had an empowering impact on community members' perceptions and attitudes about research and/or on reported participation in research. The participatory development approach used in this project was successful in creating a mutually acceptable workshop and co-learning experience. The evaluation findings suggest this workshop lays the foundation for empowered participation of community partners in CBPR.