Utilizing a Community-Based Participatory Research Curriculum as a Framework to Build Tribal Research Capacity

Introduction: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) focuses on research for action and social change and can be a powerful tool in addressing health disparities.  Educational resources to train both academic and community partners in CBPR are increasingly needed.

Methods: We adapted and implemented the evidence-based Developing and Sustaining Community-based Participatory Research Partnerships: A Skill-Building Curriculum, available for download free and over the Internet, for use with a unique partnership comprised of tribal health clinic staff, academic researchers, and tribal members working in three Native American communities in Northern California from 2010 to 2012. The goal of the partnership was to build tribal capacity to conduct research addressing obesity and food insecurity within these tribal communities. 

Results: Three focus groups administered to the 28 tribal member participants assessed the efficacy of the training, which was highly rated, even referred to as “life changing” for some of the tribal members.  Additionally the initiative led to systematic changes within all of the partners’ settings including the development of a tribal research review board in one community and the development of processes for research review and dissemination in the health clinic settings. The university system, which did not have formal policies in place for working with sovereign tribal nations, initiated efforts to establish such policies pertaining to tribal data ownership and the dissemination of research findings. 

Conclusions: This CBPR curriculum served as a powerful framework to facilitate truly bi-directional learning and build the research capacity and infrastructure within each of the partner settings.