A call for an international collaboration on participatory research for health.

Participatory health research (PHR) has emerged as an important approach for addressing local health issues, including building capacity for health promotion. Increasingly, PHR is drawing the attention of communities, funders, decision-makers and researchers worldwide. It is time to consolidate what we know about PHR in order to secure its place as a source of knowledge and action for public health.

Setting up a peer review process for community-based organizations: conflicts and challenges.

Background: The authors are conducting a national demonstration project in Germany to develop quality assurance structures and methods for community-based HIV prevention.

Objectives: We sought to provide outside input to AIDS service organizations (ASOs) on their prevention work while improving the local discourse on the quality of HIV prevention.

Methods: A voluntary peer review process with community workers, funders, community members, and researchers as reviewers.