Session: Community-Based Participatory Research: Principles and Methods for Relevant and Appropriate Research with Diverse Communities (Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference: Social Work Research: A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES)

Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) has gained increasing attention nationally, as evidenced by new NIH funding streams and the plethora of projects that have implemented its principles. Rooted historically in participatory action research (Fals-Borda, 1985; Lewin, 1946), popular education (Friere, 1970), feminist scholarship, and post-Marxist/post-colonial approaches, CBPR emerged from the belief and experiences that traditional “outside expert” approaches to research on complex social problems often led to disappointing outcomes and ill suited interventions. Rather CBPR emphasizes emancipatory approaches involving people who are most affected by a problem in practical problem solving for the purposes of challenging inequality and promoting structural transformation as its ultimate goal. The workshop will introduce CBPR, beginning with its history and describing its principles. Examples of CBPR projects will demonstrate successes and challenges, as well as practical recommendations for both summative and formative evaluation of intervention research. Advanced topics will include the conduct of process evaluations for CBPR interventions, the use of experimental designs and randomized controlled trials, and dissemination procedures and protocols.