218 Parran Hall

412-624-3610

http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/interior.php?pageID=82

jgburke@pitt.edu

In the last 10 years, Community-Based Participatory Research and Practice (CBPRP) has emerged as a core discipline in behavioral and social science departments within schools of public health. CBPRP is a collaborative process of research and practice that includes both researchers and community representatives. Communities are generally defined as those that share a unit of identity (e.g. social ties, geographical locations). The CBPRP process involves engaging community members, using local knowledge in the understanding of health problems, and a long-term committment to partnership. CBPRP is oriented towards holistic interventions informed by social ecology modeling, a widely recognized approach that not only targets knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of individuals, but also includes social factors such as family and friendship ties, community norms, and the structure of community services. The CBPRP certificate program is designed to provide a comprehensive set of courses that will prepare graduate students for a career in community-based participatory research and practice. As part of the program, student interns will work with local community agencies to collaboratively address identified community public health issues.