Community-engaged research
Community-engaged research (CEnR) is the process of working collaboratively with groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interests, or similar situations with respect to issues affecting their well-being. One of the most widely used forms of community-engaged research is community-based participatory research (CBPR),[1] though it also encompasses action research and participatory action research. Another form of community-engaged research is integrated knowledge translation (iKT),[2] defined as "an approach to doing research that applies the principles of knowledge translation to the entire research process". The iKT evolves around the concept of engaging[3] different levels of knowledge users (community members, organizations working in the community, and policy makers)[3][4][5] as equal partners in the research activities so that research outputs are more relevant to, and more likely to be useful to, the knowledge users.
History
Community-engaged research arose in response to historical abuse of marginalized people by researchers, who failed to consider the needs of the community and potential benefits of the research. Types of CEnR include action research, community-based participatory research (CBPR), and participatory action research (PAR). The field of CEnR has grown rapidly since 2005.[6]
Process
Community-engaged research is planned in partnership with the community that is the intended target of the research.[7] It requires the development of partnerships between researchers and the community, cooperation and negotiation between parties, collaboration, and a commitment to addressing local health concerns.[8] This can create additional steps not traditionally found in research projects, such as jointly creating a mission statement or a memorandum of understanding to establish terminology, timelines, and expectations. These planning steps typically occur before funding is secured for the research project so that a meaningful and trusting relationship is the platform for the research activities.[3] Community members may be skeptical of research conducted without compensation; researchers and the community can collaborate to define fair compensation for participation.[7] The researchers also can involve the community members in the research activities and ensuring community member capacity building needs.[4]
CEnR projects exist along a spectrum of the level of community involvement. In order from least- to most-involved, examples are investigator-driven research, community-placed research, community-based research, community-based participatory research, and community-driven research.[8]
Scope
Reviews of community-engaged research indicate that this type of research predominantly occurs in the US and the Americas. Europe is represented chiefly by studies in the United Kingdom, and some studies have been conducted in Australia as well. Few reviews of community-engaged research have included work done in Africa or Asia.[6]
References
- ^ Balls-Berry, J. E.; Acosta-Pérez, E. (2017). "The Use of Community Engaged Research Principles to Improve Health: Community Academic Partnerships for Research". Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal. 36 (2): 84–85. PMC 5582944. PMID 28622404.
- ^ Kitson, A., and M. Bisby. 2008. Speeding up the spread: putting KT research into practice and developing an integrated KT collaborative research agenda. Edmonton (AB): Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.
- ^ a b c Turin, Tanvir Chowdhury; Chowdhury, Nashit; Haque, Sarika; Rumana, Nahid; Rahman, Nafiza; Lasker, Mohammad A. A. (August 2021). "Meaningful and deep community engagement efforts for pragmatic research and beyond: engaging with an immigrant/racialised community on equitable access to care". BMJ Global Health. 6 (8): e006370. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006370. ISSN 2059-7908. PMC 8383879. PMID 34426405.
- ^ a b Turin, Tanvir Chowdhury; Chowdhury, Nashit; Haque, Sarika; Rumana, Nahid; Rahman, Nafiza; Lasker, Mohammad A. A. (December 2021). "Involving im/migrant community members for knowledge co-creation: the greater the desired involvement, the greater the need for capacity building". BMJ Global Health. 6 (12): e007602. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007602. ISSN 2059-7908. PMC 8718487. PMID 34969687.
- ^ Turin, Tanvir Chowdhury; Chowdhury, Nashit; Rumana, Nahid; Lasker, Mohammad A. A.; Qasqas, Mahdi (March 2022). "Partnering with organisations beyond academia through strategic collaboration for research and mobilisation in immigrant/ethnic-minority communities". BMJ Global Health. 7 (3): e008201. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008201. ISSN 2059-7908. PMC 8948381. PMID 35332054.
- ^ a b Ortiz, Kasim; Nash, Jacob; Shea, Logan; Oetzel, John; Garoutte, Justin; Sanchez-Youngman, Shannon; Wallerstein, Nina (2020). "Partnerships, Processes, and Outcomes: A Health Equity–Focused Scoping Meta-Review of Community-Engaged Scholarship". Annual Review of Public Health. 41: 177–199. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-040119-094220. PMC 8095013. PMID 31922931.
- ^ a b Michener, Lloyd; Cook, Jennifer; Ahmed, Syed M.; Yonas, Michael A.; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera; Aguilar-Gaxiola, Sergio (2012). "Aligning the Goals of Community-Engaged Research: Why and How Academic Health Centers Can Successfully Engage With Communities to Improve Health". Academic Medicine. 87 (3): 285–291. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e3182441680. ISSN 1040-2446. PMC 3292771. PMID 22373619.
- ^ a b Hacker, Karen; Glover Taylor, J. (2011). Community-Engaged Research (CEnR) and the Institutional Review Board: Principles, Challenges, and Opportunities (PDF) (Report). The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center.