Participatory research maximises community and lay involvement

Participatory research attempts to negotiate a balance between developing valid generalisable knowledge and benefiting the community that is being researched and to improve research protocols by incorporating the knowledge and expertise of community members. For many types of research in specific communities, these goals can best be met by the community and researcher collaborating in the research as equals. #### Summary points The knowledge, expertise, and resources of the involved community are often key to successful research Three primary features of participatory research include collaboration, mutual education, and acting on results developed from research questions that are relevant to the community Participatory research is based on a mutually respectful partnership between researchers and communities Partnerships are strengthened by joint development of research agreements for the design, implementation, analysis, and dissemination of results Results of participatory research both have local applicability and are transferable to other communities This integrative review is based on a search of medical, nursing, and social science databases and ethical research codes. The material selected had to be significant theoretical works, source documents, or concrete examples of participatory research. We assessed the texts on the basis of our own experiences as members of Native communities (LEC, MLMcC, CMR) and researchers (WLF, NG, ACM, MLMcC, PLT) in participatory research projects. The preliminary draft was reviewed by a wide range of researchers and community members. The members of the North American Primary Care Research Group reviewed and accepted the final draft as a ploicy statement for participatory research This article summarises that document (the full document can be found at http://views.vcu.edu/views/fap/napcrg98/exec.html). Participatory research began as a movement for social justice in international development settings.1 It was developed to help improve social and economic conditions, to effect change, and to reduce the distrust of the people being studied.2 Although different …