Community Based Participatory Research as a lens for reconceptualizing service learning: Diverse urban students bridging campus and community

Service learning usually refers to residential college students assumed to be outsiders to the organizations they serve and focused on student learning and civic engagement rather than community benefit. Traditional service learning models exclude the majority of students enrolled in higher education, including ethnic minority and working-class students, who did not enroll in college full-time immediately after high-school, are commuter rather than residential students, work and care for families, and are already engaged in their communities. Community Based Participatory Research focused on health disparities offers a unique opportunity to inspire these students to undertake health professions and health research careers promoting health equity, through collaborative research addressing community problems in meaningful ways. CBPR research training supports diverse students, themselves carrying the consequences of health and educational disparities, in transforming academic and professional paths in ways that benefit their communities. While often regarded as deficits, first-hand experiences of health consequences of inequality, when combined with learning about the power of knowledge-based social action, inspire students to see participatory research as bridge and foundation for “making a living while making a difference”. This paper presents a collaboration between the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Harvard School of Public Health and Roxbury's Cherishing Our Hearts and Soul Coalition in mentoring students who are members of communities affected by health disparities to gain research, community organizing, and policy/advocacy skills through CBPR. Presenters include faculty and community mentors and student researchers describing their experiences bridging professional development and community activism through participatory research.