Community-Based Participatory Research: An Ethical and Practical Model for Academic Public Health and Clinical Research

• Main Author: Cynthia R Hall
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Florida 2019-05-01
• Series: Florida Public Health Review
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1208&context=fphr

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a strategy for performing health-related research in vulnerable communities that have been exploited by traditional research in the past. CBPR focuses on mutual collaboration between the community and the researchers involved. This form of research is ethically compelled to instill transparency and trust into the research enterprise. CBPR envisions the involvement of the community in all aspects of the research: design, implementation and dissemination of research results. This collaborative process necessitates an analysis of ethical considerations because it implies additional moral principles beyond the traditional ethics enunciated in the Belmont Report, the foundational guideline for moral biomedical research. In the Belmont Report, the ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice are traditionally applied to only the actual research participant. CBPR would require that these principles be extended to the community to empower the community. Also, reciprocal justice should be considered as an additional measure for further assurance that a community receives a just benefit in return for its participation in the research. These ethical considerations, which are made apparent through CBPR, will empower and build the capacity of marginalized communities.