Community-based participatory evaluation: the healthy start approach

The use of community-based participatory research has gained momentum as a viable approach to academic and community engagement for research over the past 20 years. This article discusses an approach for extending the process with an emphasis on evaluation of a community partnership-driven initiative and thus advances the concept of conducting community-based participatory evaluation (CBPE) through a model used by the Healthy Start project of the Augusta Partnership for Children, Inc., in Augusta, Georgia. Application of the CBPE approach advances the importance of bilateral engagements with consumers and academic evaluators. The CBPE model shows promise as a reliable and credible evaluation approach for community-level assessment of health promotion programs.