Description |
In 2003, the University of Utah, in cooperation with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), the Atwima Nwabiagya District Assembly and Barekuma community leaders, formed what is known as the Barekuma Collaborative Community Development Project (BCCDP) in Ghana, West Africa. In 2009, the BCCDP facilitated the establishment of a farmer's cooperative in the village of Barekuma, outside of Kumasi, Ghana, which is called the Amakye‐Bare Youth Co‐operative Farming & Marketing Society Limited. Research performed in the summer of 2011 measured the perceptions of the members of the Agricultural Cooperative toward the BCCDP. Using Community‐Based Participatory Research (CBPR), this paper describes the BCCDP, the Agricultural Cooperative, and Ghanaian culture, while expanding upon the perceptions of Agriculture Cooperative members regarding concepts of loans and ownership, and concludes with recommendations for improvement. CBPR is an approach for community‐engaged research that promotes equitable partnerships between researchers and community members (Wallerstein & Duran, 2003). CBPR seeks to integrate researchers and communities in shared decision‐making and ownership in order to promote social change and eliminate health disparities (de Schweinitz et al., 2009). Equitable partnerships require sharing power, resources, credit, results, and knowledge, as well as a reciprocal appreciation of each partner's knowledge and skills at each stage of the project, including problem definition/issue selection, research design, conducting research, interpreting the results, and determining how the results should be utilized for community development (Amuase, 2011). Because of the potential of CBPR to reduce health disparities, the Institute of Medicine considers CBPR one of eight priority approaches for public health education in the twenty‐first century (Israel, 2005). CBPR is at the heart of all of the projects undertaken by the BCCDP. Every autumn, leaders from Barekuma, University of Utah, KATH, and KNUST meet to discuss potential research projects for the coming summer, along with needed follow up to past projects. Projects undertaken undergo scrutinized research beforehand to determine the best methods for not only conducting the research, but also using validated tools whenever possible. They are only carried out after receiving approval from both the University of Utah Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the IRB at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. |
Bibliographic Citation |
Taylor, M., Ibrahim, L., Strait, J., Nyamadi, G., Kim, E., Yosangfo, B., Parsons, L., (et.al). (2011). Understanding the community based participatory research (CBPR) approach: case study in Ghana. 1-30. |