Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 May 2;21(1):59.
doi: 10.1186/s12939-022-01663-y.

Exploring theoretical mechanisms of community-engaged research: a multilevel cross-sectional national study of structural and relational practices in community-academic partnerships

John G Oetzel  1 , Blake Boursaw  2 , Maya Magarati  3 , Elizabeth Dickson  2 , Shannon Sanchez-Youngman  4 , Leo Morales  5 , Sarah Kastelic  6 , Milton Mickey Eder  7 , Nina Wallerstein  4
Affiliations

Exploring theoretical mechanisms of community-engaged research: a multilevel cross-sectional national study of structural and relational practices in community-academic partnerships

John G Oetzel et al. Int J Equity Health. .

Abstract

Background: Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is often used to address health inequities due to structural racism. However, much of the existing literature emphasizes relationships and synergy rather than structural components of CBPR. This study introduces and tests new theoretical mechanisms of the CBPR Conceptual Model to address this limitation.

Methods: Three-stage online cross-sectional survey administered from 2016 to 2018 with 165 community-engaged research projects identified through federal databases or training grants. Participants (N = 453) were principal investigators and project team members (both academic and community partners) who provided project-level details and perceived contexts, processes, and outcomes. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling and fuzzy-set qualitative comparison analysis.

Results: Commitment to Collective Empowerment was a key mediating variable between context and intervention activities. Synergy and Community Engagement in Research Actions were mediating variables between context/partnership process and outcomes. Collective Empowerment was most strongly aligned with Synergy, while higher levels of Structural Governance and lower levels of Relationships were most consistent with higher Community Engagement in Research Actions.

Conclusions: The CBPR Conceptual Model identifies key theoretical mechanisms for explaining health equity and health outcomes in community-academic partnerships. The scholarly literature's preoccupation with synergy and relationships overlooks two promising practices-Structural Governance and Collective Empowerment-that interact from contexts through mechanisms to influence outcomes. These results also expand expectations beyond a "one size fits all" for reliably producing positive outcomes.

Keywords: CBPR conceptual model; Collective empowerment; Community-based participatory research (CBPR); Community-engaged research; Participatory health research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
CBPR Conceptual Model
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Hypothesized Model
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Structural Equation Model
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Borrell L, Kapadia F. Social justice for marginalized communities. Am J Public Health. 2021;111:1366. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306426. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wallerstein N, Duran B, Oetzel J, Minkler M, editors. Community-based participatory research for health: advancing social and health equity. 3. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2018.
    1. Boelsen-Robinson T, Peeters A, Beauchamp A, Chung A, Gearon E, Backholer K. A systematic review of the effectiveness of whole-of-community interventions by socioeconomic position. Obes Rev. 2015;16(9):806–816. doi: 10.1111/obr.12297. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Milton B, Attree P, French B, Povall S, Whitehead M, Popay J. The impact of community engagement on health and social outcomes: a systematic review. Community Dev J. 2012;47(3):316–334. doi: 10.1093/cdj/bsr043. - DOI
    1. O'Mara-Eves A, Brunton G, Oliver S, Kavanagh J, Jamal F, Thomas J. The effectiveness of community engagement in public health interventions for disadvantaged groups: a meta-analysis. BMC Public Health. 2015;15(1):1352.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources