Community-Based Participatory Research among Somali Communities in the US and Canada

• In Event: Somali Immigrants and Refugees: Societal Treatment and Youth Behavior

Abstract

CBPR is an approach to research which posits that, to do an ethical and effective research in specific communities, researchers should work to form a partnership with community members. Key components of CBPR include: forming a partnership with communities rather than having a top down approach to research, having a community involvement in all aspects or stages of the research project, and prioritizing a community capacity building so that the research findings can be utilized to create programs and services that address community identified needs and use community approved solutions.
Building on a decade long partnership with the Somali community, Boston Children’s Hospital Refugee Trauma and Resilience Center (BCHRTRC) uses CBPR to partners with Somali communities in the US and Canada in order to undertake an longitudinal research that is looking into the experiences of Somali youth in North America. This presentation will illustrate how CBPR shapes what we do and how we do it in our collaboration with this community. We will also discuss the challenges and rewards of CBPR in research and how community needs and objectives and research team priorities can sometimes come into conflict. In our discussion, participants will learn about the following steps in CBPR:
1. Identifying community gatekeepers and leaders
2. Integrating community ideas in all stages of the process
3. Prioritizing community capacity building
4. Sharing sensitive findings/Not adding to the stigma of vulnerable populations
5. Strategies for dealing with conflict/difficult issues

Authors

• Saida M. Abdi, Boston Children’s Hospital

• Osob Issa, Boston Children’s Hospital

• Heidi B. Ellis, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School