Community-Based Participatory Research: Lessons and Challenges. Symposium Special Communication

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is grounded in the commitment of co-creation and co-development of research that is for, by, and with the population it is intended to impact. Translational oral health researchers can harness this research approach when conceptualizing innovations and interventions, especially in those contexts where populations have been made systemically and historically vulnerable. This commentary highlights lessons shared and challenges presented when implementing CBPR, derived from a 2024 IADR/AADOCR/CADR General Session & Exhibition symposium. The presenters shared numerous considerations when planning CBPR, such as integrating an equity lens in research, the necessity of community partnerships and trust-building, and the significance of adopting principles and criteria that are developed by the communities one works with and are therefore relevant and applicable to their particular oral health needs. Additionally, the panel of speakers and symposium attendants discussed ways of ensuring the sustainability of interventions and the integration of worldviews other than that of the researchers into CBPR. Oral health scientists and program implementers working with communities' interests in mind must be alert of how best to harness CBPR to adequately respect self-determination and governance of all peoples and, in this manner, develop strategies that are adopted and valued by the communities they intend to serve.Knowledge Transfer Statement: Community-based participatory research is an equitable and wholesome approach that aims to respectfully collaborate with the communities that it seeks to impact. It offers everyone a seat at the table when trying to create transformative clinical, behavioral, and health services change. Oral health scientists and program implementers can apply this framework for research and programming in communities where past approaches have not necessarily benefited the peoples or their communities in an equitable manner.