A Participatory Group Process within a Health Collaborative to Collect and Disseminate Needs Assessment Data.

Background: Inclusion of community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles within an epidemiological study design is anticipated to promote the effective integration of knowledge derived from research data collection into the strategic planning and collaborative effort of a group focused on improving community-based health outcomes. This article describes how CBPR principles were used throughout survey design, data collection, analyses and results dissemination.

Methods: A health needs assessment survey was developed as a partnership between an academic research group from the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), a neighborhood-level health and wellness collaborative, and community residents.