Using a community advisory board in CBPR: Lessons learned from the field

Formerly incarcerated young women (ages 18-25) face multiple barriers to successful community reentry, not least of which are discrimination and stigma. In order to better understand incarceration-related stigma and discrimination, a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was employed to explore the experiences of young women while incarcerated in San Francisco (SF) County Jail and post-release. This presentation discusses lessons learned about the feasibility of using a CBPR approach to involve key stakeholders (including young formerly incarcerated women, SF Sheriff's department staff, community based organizations, and academic researchers) to examine policies and practices that impact the health of women leaving jail. Reflections are offered on the strengths and limitations of adopting a community advisory board (CAB) structure to involve key stakeholders as the main vehicle for participation. The CAB was instrumental for building relationships, developing research tools, recruiting participants, analyzing data, and determining means of dissemination. Despite the project's short time frame, sustained engagement of formerly incarcerated women in this research was challenging given their life circumstances. However, this project offers a practical example of how CBPR principles and practice can be incorporated into small projects with limited resources, enhancing the quality and impact of research and providing an example for future CBPR projects with formerly incarcerated people or other disenfranchised communities. Such action-oriented research can be used to change policy and practice in ways that improve the health, well-being, and life outcomes of formerly incarcerated women and their families.