A realist evaluation of community-based participatory research: partnership synergy, trust building and related ripple effects
Jagosh J., Bush PL., Salsberg J., Macaulay AC., Greenhalgh T., Wong G., Cargo M., Green LW., Herbert CP., Pluye P.
BACKGROUND: Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) is an approach in which researchers and community stakeholders form equitable partnerships to tackle issues related to community health improvement and knowledge production. Our 2012 realist review of CBPR outcomes reported long-term effects that were touched upon but not fully explained in the retained literature. To further explore such effects, interviews were conducted with academic and community partners of partnerships retained in the review. Realist methodology was used to increase the understanding of what supports partnership synergy in successful long-term CBPR partnerships, and to further document how equitable partnerships can result in numerous benefits including the sustainability of relationships, research and solutions.