A Review of Community-Based Participatory Research in Child Health

OBJECTIVE: To review published studies that use an authentic community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach in child health to highlight the benefits, barriers, and scope of this approach with pediatric populations. METHOD: Studies using CBPR in child health were identified using PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science through MeSH heading and keyword searches. Keywords included "community-based participatory research" and "child," "youth," and "adolescent." Literature reviews and community-placed articles were excluded. RESULTS: A total of 34 CBPR studies focused on child health were identified and analyzed for this review. The most common child health issue in these studies was obesity/diabetes. Other child health topics included health needs assessments, reproductive health, female health, HIV treatment, physical activity, mental health, maternal/child health, substance abuse, asthma, and youth with disabilities/special healthcare needs. IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSION: CBPR offers a unique approach for translating evidence-based models and research knowledge from child health into effective and sustainable interventions.