Cross-community community-based participatory research: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community Health Research
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Communities with poor health outcomes often face political divisions.
• Community-based participatory research (CBPR) aims to engage diverse populations.
• The potential of CBPR to foster inter-community understanding is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the literature on CBPR utilizing purposeful diversity in the US.
• To understand how diverse partnerships are formed and managed in CBPR.
• To assess the reported benefits and challenges of purposeful diversity in CBPR.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of English-language literature on CBPR in the US.
• Inclusion criteria: studies intentionally involving partnerships with diverse communities.
• Identified 41 partnerships described across 65 papers.

Main Results:

• Ethnicity/race was the most common form of purposeful diversity.
• Community advisory boards and co-investigators were frequent participation methods.
• Benefits often limited to diverse participant recruitment; few addressed communication barriers or documented strategies.

Conclusions:

• CBPR partnerships rarely address inter-community conflict or explore diversity's influence.
• Strategies for managing diversity challenges in CBPR are under-reported.
• The potential of CBPR to promote inter-community understanding remains largely unrealized.