HEAT is among a growing number of community-academic partnerships that have embraced community-based participatory research (CBPR) as an approach to explain and eliminate social inequalities in health. Some leading proponents of this approach have now released an instructional course—available on CD-ROM or as a downloadable file—to help people get started with this approach.

The course is titled “Community-Based Participatory Research: A Partnership Approach for Public Health.” The primary instructors are Barbara Israel, Chris Coombe, and Robert McGranaghan from the Detroit Community-Academic Urban Research Center (where, incidentally, I did my postdoctoral training in CBPR). As the instructors describe it, the training includes five parts:

• Rationale, definition, and core principles
• Strategies for forming, maintaining, sustaining, and evaluating CBPR partnerships
• Qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and interpretation
• Dissemination and translation of research findings
• Benefits, challenges, and recommendations for using CBPR for research and social change

To receive a free copy (if sent within the United States and U.S. Territories) of the CD-ROM, or to access the downloadable version, please register at: www.cbpr-training.org. Information about availability of continuing education credits can also be found on the website. You may also register by phone by calling the Michigan Public Health Training Center at 734.615.9439 (Course code: CBPRR0909).

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