Immigrants as Research Partners: A Review of Immigrants in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

Abstract

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is uniquely suited to engage immigrants in all aspects of research, from research question development to data collection to interpretation and dissemination of results. An increasing number of research studies have utilized the methodology for exploring complex health issues for immigrants. In the current manuscript, we present a review of peer-reviewed articles in health-related research where CBPR was conducted in partnership with immigrants. We examined the role of immigrants in the CBPR process and how immigrant involvement improved/enhanced the research rigor. A total of 161 articles met the inclusion criteria. The results of this literature review enhance our understanding of how CBPR can be used in direct collaboration with immigrants and highlights the many potential benefits for both researchers and immigrant communities.

Keywords: Community-based participatory research; Health research; Immigrants; Research rigor.