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Community-centered projects on health and the environment are vital for inclusive and equitable student learning. One of the ways to engage STEM and humanities undergraduates on public and global health and environmental justice topics is using a framework called community-based participatory research (CBPR). CBPR provides a framework for culturally relevant and responsive environmental or health topics through community engagement. In our feature article, we provide background on public and global health perspectives related to heart disease, and showcase how CBPR can be woven into the introduction to biology class and lab as a pathways to engage and empower students from all disciplines on developing a community awareness project.
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This content will become publicly available on December 31, 2026
Applying community-based participatory research principles to build trust and equity in health and socio-ecological studies in Greenland
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a framework to improve social equity by engaging communities as equal partners in research design, conduct, and knowledge creation. While CBPR has seen increasing application in Arctic regions, its use in Greenland has been limited by logistical, linguistic, and historical challenges, including community fatigue from extractive research practices. This manuscript details a CBPR-informed approach used to conduct an exploratory study on fertility, reproductive health, and climate adaptation in the Kalaallit community of Paamiut. The study aimed to understand the socio-environmental factors influencing fertility decisions amid economic and environmental changes. We report on nine strategies used to conduct equitable health and socio-ecological research in Greenland guided by the principles of CBPR. Using CBPR principles improved trust, participant recruitment, and the creation of community-valued research products in Paamiut. While time and funding limitations constrained full implementation of CBPR best practices, this study highlights the potential of CBPR to improve equity in Greenlandic research. Using CBPR principles to guide community-engaged research in Greenland provides a concrete and actionable way for students or early-career researchers to promote equitable relationships despite resource limitations. The methods described can be applied across other research disciplines to continue building trust and sustainability in international research partnerships in Greenland.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2330886
- PAR ID:
- 10590919
- Publisher / Repository:
- Taylor & Francis
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- International Journal of Circumpolar Health
- Volume:
- 84
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2242-3982
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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