Building a Bridge Between Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) and Primary Care Practice-based Research (PBR)
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* George Rust
* Lisa Cooper

*To the Editor:* We are pleased to hear of these specific examples of community-based participatory research (CBPR) focused on cancer care and outcomes for American Indian communities in South Dakota. CBPR and primary care practice-based research (PBR) too often operate in separate silos, one focused on community-based, health-promoting interventions outside of clinical health care settings, and the other inherently conducted within the clinical practice. Reiner and Petereit describe a perfect example of how to build a bridge between these 2 important arenas of disparities research toward a common goal of improved health outcomes. The use of community health workers, navigators, *promotoras*, or in this case “Community Research Representatives,” are essential to bridging the culture gap between clinical practitioners and individuals in the communities they serve. As presented here, they also can play a key role in bridging the gap between research investigators and research subjects.

Much more work needs to be done in this area to further refine the methodology for implementing research that has community oversight and to better capture the insights and the discovery that are generated by the community, rather then merely fostering one-way diffusion of medical innovation from university to community.

We applaud the efforts of Reiner and Petereit, and look forward to seeing the outcomes of their innovative work and to see their methods adapted in many more diverse settings across our nation.