Why do we need communities to make our research matter?

Why do we need communities to make our research matter?::Community-based participatory research for implementation of child nutrition interventions in Guatemala +++

Effective interventions for preventing and addressing child malnutrition are well established in global health literature. Implementing these evidence-based interventions in communities, however, presents an on-going challenge. Local capacity, resources, and acceptance are all commonly identified "barriers to adoption." In this talk, Dr. Bennett argues that, in order for our research and evidence-based interventions to be implemented and to impact health, we need to see communities not as barriers, but as full partners. She will discuss an on-going collaboration with Dr. David Boyd, Duke Global Health Institute and Saint Vincent College students, and partners in Guatemala to apply community-based participatory research to enrich and expand local efforts to reduce child malnutrition. +++

Professor Elaine Bennett, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, St. Vincent's College