Beginning Community-Based Participatory Research: Gaining Entry to Systems

Abstract

System or community entry refers to a process of initiating, nurturing, and sustaining relationships in order to enter a community space. Community entry involves discovery of the principles and techniques of participation and mobilization for community transformation. It also involves discernment of who the leadership and community members are in order to achieve an effective way of meeting and interacting with them. The principles of Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) provide a framework for using a community approach to discover solutions to health disparities. However, there is an evidentiary dearth of instruction about how one begins and maintains community entry. In this paper, the novice CBPR researcher is instructed in participation strategies, informed of sensitivity factors involved with new cultures, and apprised of the community consciousness of the system where gaining entry is planned. Additionally, a case study is used to present strategies for system entry and the participation processes involved to discover leadership and community members as part of the process of beginning a community based research study.