"A collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. CBPR begins with a research topic of importance to the community and has the aim of combining knowledge with action and achieving social change..." ~ Community Health Scholars Program

The National Nursing Practice Network is a collaborative learning comm unity made up of nurses working in 70 healthcare settings in 26 states, Puerto Rico and 2 international sites Singapore and Pakistan, who share a common interest in nursing practice excellence, innovation, translation science, and promotion of evidence-based practices. All activities, projects or programs sponsored by the NNPN are designed to meet the collective needs of member organizations (hospitals).

One of the four work groups of the NNPN is the Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) group. The goal of this work group is to facilitate research that addresses questions of interest to the hospitals in the NNPN. For our purposes, community is defined as nurses working in NNPN hospitals who share common questions about improving patient outcomes. The CBPR work group is committed to understanding the clinical questions of acute care practice and how these questions might be addressed through application of evidence and/or conduct of research. NNPN sites are encouraged to become involved in the CBPR by e-mailing one of the CBPR members with questions or ideas that might be addressed by research ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). As NNPN sites participate in research, we collectively are able to address some critical clinical issues that nurses face every day. For example, many of the NNPN sites are participating in a Robert Wood Johnson funded descriptive study to advance an understanding about the linkages between 1) nursing treatments and systems of care and 2) patient outcomes of falls and injuries from falls. In a spirit of collaboration, we look forward to sharing the results of this study and lessons learned from our study sites.

Helpful Links:

• Developing and Sustaining Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships: A skill-building curriculum. This site provides an evidence-based curriculum to learn more about CBPR. Including a resource list for more information.
• Community-Campus Partnerships for Health: An informative site for learning more about CBPR. Includes on-line curriculum, resources, and funding opportunities.
• AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment: Community-based Participatory Research: Assessing the Evidence

Suggested Readings

Ongoing CBPR Grants