title: Forging collaborative partnerships to enhance family health: an assessment of strengths and challenges in conducting community-based research.
abstract: Community-based research has emerged as a vital strategy for developing effective, culturally relevant health interventions. This article describes the strengths and challenges of building a collaborative research partnership based on equality between academic researchers, public health practitioners, and representatives from community-based organizations. The model of collaboration adopted for the Fathers and Sons Project is described and examples of model applications are discussed. Lessons learned in the form of strengths/benefits and potential pitfalls in developing a community-based intervention designed to enhance the health behaviors of African American nonresidential fathers and their sons are provided.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Isichei
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D005219:Father-Child Relations; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health; D012106:Research