Community-Based Participatory Research: Evolution and Significant Developments

In 1998, in the Annual Review of Public Health, we reviewed the development of community-based research, later titled community-based participatory research (CBPR). The field has grown since then in multiple ways, including the number of CBPR partnerships; the diversity of communities involved and issues addressed; credibility within communities and academia; the volume of publications and reports; the amount of evidence of effective interventions and policy change; increased capacity-building opportunities; increased funding opportunities; and the development of validated partnership evaluation tools. This review examines the evolution of CBPR in the United States since 1998, based on peer-reviewed literature. We examine five significant areas: evolution of CBPR principles; location of CBPR within a continuum of community involvement in research; conceptual models, research design, and evaluation; translation of research findings into policy; and structural change to promote health equity. We discuss lessons learned, impacts on the field, and recommendations, concluding with a discussion of future directions.