Is Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) Useful? A Systematic Review on Papers in a Decade

Background: community-based participatory research (cbpr) hasbeen applied by health researchers and practitioners to address healthdisparities and community empowerment for health promotion. despitethe growing popularity of cbpr projects, there has been little effort tosynthesize the literature to evaluate cbpr projects. the present reviewattempts to identify appropriate elements that may contribute to thesuccessful or unsuccessful interventions.methods: a systematic review was undertaken using evidence identifiedthrough searching electronic databases, web sites, and reference list checks.predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria were assessed by reviewers.levels of evidence, accounting for methodologic quality, were assessedfor 3 types of cbpr approaches, including interventional, observational,and qualitative research design as well as cbpr elements through separateabstraction forms. each included study was appraised with 2 qualitygrades, one for the elements of cbpr and one for research design.results: of 14,222 identified articles, 403 included in the abstract review.of these, 70 cbpr studies, that 56 intervention studies had differentdesigns, and finally 8 studies met the inclusion criteria. the findingsshow that collaboration among community partners, researchers, andorganizations led to community-level action to improve the health andwellbeing and to minimize health disparities. it enhanced the capacityof the community in terms of research and leadership skills. the resultprovided examples of effective cbpr that took place in a variety ofcommunities. however, little has been written about the organizationalcapacities required to make these efforts successful.conclusion: some evidences were found for potentially effective strategiesto increase the participant’s levels of cbpr activities. interventions thatincluded community involvement have the potential to make importantdifferences to levels of activities and should be promoted.