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Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine logoLink to Journal of Urban Health : Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine
. 2005 Jun;82(Suppl 2):ii3–ii12. doi: 10.1093/jurban/jti034

Community-based research partnerships: Challenges and opportunities

Meredith Minkler 1,✉
PMCID: PMC3456439  PMID: 15888635

Abstract

The complexity of many urban health problems often makes them ill suited to traditional research approaches and interventions. The resultant frustration, together with community calls for genuine partnership in the research process, has highlighted the importance of an alternative paradigm. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is presented as a promising collaborative approach that combines systematic inquiry, participation, and action to address urban health problems. Following a brief review of its basic tenets and historical roots, key ways in which CBPR adds value to urban health research are introduced and illustrated. Case study examples from diverse international settings are used to illustrate some of the difficult ethical challenges that may arise in the course of CBPR partnership approaches. The concepts of partnership synergy and cultural humility, together with protocols such as Green et al.’s guidelines for appraising CBPR projects, are highlighted as useful tools for urban health researchers seeking to apply this collaborative approach and to deal effectively with the difficult ethical challenges it can present.

Keywords: Community-based participatory research, Ethical issues in research, Participatory action research, Partnership, Urban health

Full Text

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Footnotes

Small portions of this article were adapted from Ethical Challenges for the “Outside” Researcher in Community Based Participatory Research by M. Minkler, December, 31(6), 2004, Health Education and Behavior. Adapted with permission of the publisher, Health Education and Behavior and Sage Publications.

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