Forlorn, by Crystal Hubbard
A dear Georgetown professor took me under her wing and gave me an opportunity to write a short column about Community-Based Participatory Action Research (child and adolescent mental health) for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing (JCAPN).
Three months after writing it, I might now approach the column’s argument’s differently. I’d adopt a “health equity” framework, and explore in greater depth the boundaries and limitations of CBPR in the interest of social justice. Oh well.
I’m still proud to present it here.
Culture Bound: The Intersection of Community-Based Participatory Action Research, Health Disparities, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health
For more than a decade, communities and their academic partners have used community-based participatory action research (CBPR) to build knowledge and support social justice. CBPR has been referred to as a transformative approach to both qualitative and quantitative research that emphasizes co-learning (through which community and academic partners exchange knowledge and expertise), capacity building (in which partners commit to training community members in research processes and other skills), mutual benefit (through which knowledge produced by the research process benefits all partners), and a long-term commitment to eliminating health disparities. By exposing and addressing systemic factors influencing health behavior and tackling issues of concern to stakeholders in the community, CBPR is well suited for bridging gaps in health disparities research and addressing questions of interest to readers of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing.
JCAPN Volume 23, Number 1, February, 2010 41
Mikhaila Richards, MS
(Formerly) Research Assistant
Georgetown University
O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law
Edilma L. Yearwood, PhD, PMHCNS, BC, FAAN
Associate Professor
Georgetown University
School of Nursing & Health Studies
